Newly elected RDC councillors assured: Central Govt. will not run roughshod over constitutional rights

Aug 02, 2015 News

Regional Democratic Councillors at the Ministry of Communities leadership forum at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre

The newly elected councillors of the 10 Regional Democratic Councils (RDC) have been assured that the new administration will not make the mistake of its predecessor- of totally disregarding their constitutional authority in nation building.
Instead, Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, pledged that the administration will cooperate and collaborate with the RDCs to repair the damage which has been wrought over the last two decades.
The Minister made the statements on Friday while engaging local representatives and private and public stakeholders at a leadership forum at the Arthur Chung International Convention Centre (ACICC,) Liliendaal.
The event, which was held under the theme “Unveiling a Vision of Regional Empowerment,” was the customary and now traditional induction and orientation for the newly elected councillors.

Minister of Communities,
Ronald Bulkan

Bulkan pointed out that in going forward it will not be business as usual.
Instead regional representatives and Central Government will be working towards realising a specific goal. Reference was made to the aspiration set out by President David Granger of building “strong regions” that will lead to a “strong country.”
“Guyana is too large to be either effectively or efficiently governed, or managed from the centre,” Minister Bulkan declared. He noted that as long as the local government organs’ authority is undermined, development cannot effectively happen at the community level.
“For as long as we do not honour our constitutional provisions relating to decentralization and devolution of power, we will not truly unlock our enormous potential; we will fail or people, particularly our young people.”
The Minister said that RDCs were treated like “step-children”, “with their authority ignored, their roles understated,” under the former administration. He said that the councillors were viewed as a “collection of mannequins.”
“This is not how it should be. This is not what the constitution provides for. The constitution is unambiguous with regard to the role of all local democratic organs.”
He made it clear that Central Government will not seek to trample on the authority of the local organs. This does not mean that Central Government will not have an active role in the management and development of the regions.
In moving forward, this role will be one of “cooperation not confrontation” in actions and efforts. “It must begin immediately in relation to all government initiatives and activities…the left hand must know what the right hand is doing,” he said.
He also urged that the councils and councillors in spending tax dollars, seek to ensure that sustainable benefits accrued to the region, and that all monies are spent on initiatives that would have been arrived at following meaningful consultations, within the RDCs and with the residents.
Regarding the day’s forum, Minister Bulkan explained that the intention is to use the event to stimulate new thinking, to open the councillors’ minds to new possibilities and to exploring new frontiers.
“As of today, each region has to begin to see itself differently. Each must begin to adapt to a mindset that sees you taking more ownership of your region,” he said.
He urged the councillors to set targets in relation to attracting investments, creating new economic activities and jobs.
In addition to being provided with an overview of the operations of an RDC, the councillors also benefitted from brief statements by other ministers. There were also presentations on ICT, potentials for tourism and agriculture, and the opportunities for generating renewable energies, as well as the challenges in making this a reality.
There was a brief address by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) Country Representative, Khadija Musa, who applauded the Ministry for its moves in the right directions; seeking to bring together the RDC councillors to have shared dialogue for sustainable development and passing the Local Government (Amendment) Bill which increases the power of the local government organs.
Musa noted these are all critical steps in not only ensuring development but social cohesion. She pointed out that communities are now placed to drive their own development.