Let’s form an Occupy Georgetown movement

Jun 17, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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The current envoys of the ABC countries – US, UK and Canada – invested time and money to have local government elections. The object was to deepen the democratic process. People figured that with the passing of the PPP-dominated oligarchy, democracy could and would be strengthened with the implementation of municipal governments all over Guyana.
Prior to the local government polls in April, local authorities had no power. Central government could topple town councils or national democratic councils and install interim regimes. The tight jurisdiction of central government over local systems was loosened with a series of amended laws, the culmination of which was the replacement of the domination of central power by a Local Government Commission. Much hype and elation greeted the April local polls. But Guyana’s old flirtation with authoritarian government just will not go away.
Since the elections in April, questions are being asked as if what we are seeing is form rather than substance. Where is the power of elected local officials located? And where is the power of the Local Government Commission derived from? The answers to both questions expose the tragic nature of this country, where rights and freedom and justice are never going to come unless people fight for them.
Let’s start with the Town Clerk of Georgetown. Any school boy will tell you that the Town Clerk has enormous power, simply because Georgetown is where Guyana’s physiology is located. Who has jurisdiction over the Town Clerk? Simply put – the elected City Council. He is a mere servant of the Council, taking directions from the Council.
But here is where the deception of power comes in. The Town Clerk is not a mere servant of the Council. The Council has no jurisdiction to dismiss the Town Clerk if an order is flouted. This is where local democracy becomes a caricature. You can even pass a no-confidence motion against him. There is no law that directs him to resign because of the vote. This identical situation occurred with Carol Sooba.
In the absence of the Local Government Commission, only the Minister of Communities can sanction the Town Clerk. What is playing out at the moment with the parking meter scandal is the fraudulent nature of local democracy. The elected City Council did not know that the Town Clerk was in Mexico. One would have thought that such an issue would have been on the Council’s agenda. And the cost involved for four persons to travel to Mexico would have been debated.
The elected City Council knew absolutely nothing about the impasse between the Beharry Group of Companies and the Town Clerk over the establishment of the KFC franchise. The company’s permit at the moment is held up by the Town Clerk. The KFC imbroglio demonstrates the enormous power of the office of the Town Clerk. The investment of a multi-billion-dollar company is held up by the Town Clerk. A trillion-dollar investment anywhere in Georgetown has to go through the office of the Town Clerk because building permits and other related documents have to have the seal of the Town Clerk’s office.
There is nothing wrong with that. It happens in all capital cities where the Mayor has serious authority. But in the case of Guyana, the Town Clerk is only answerable to the Minister. This is where this guy’s power becomes problematic. Why allocate authority to an elected body and it has no restraining hand over one of its employees? That is a farce and a caricature of local democracy.
Let’s answer the other question alluded to above – where does the Local Government Commission come from? It comes from the presidency. Of the eight Commissioners, four are nominated by the presidency, three by the Opposition – which have to meet with the approval of the presidency – and one from the trade union. How ironic but foolish is the very nature of this country. Local democracy is to empower people at the grassroots levels.
Local election is to empower those who live in the communities. But the total system of local democracy throughout Guyana has at its apex, an eight-member body named the Local Government Commission which has to be approved by of all people – the most powerful man in government, the President. One would have thought that when the legislation was being drafted, the last place you would look at to have authority over local communities would have been the very central government that ought to be out of the business of dictating for local organs.
In the meantime, Georgetowners need to take back the City Council from an old cabal. A protest group needs to be formed ASAP.

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