Here is the reason the govt. does not want the local govt. commission

Sep 01, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
One may wonder why is the government behaving in such a delinquent manner with the appointment of this constitutional body? The answer becomes clearer when one recognises that the mandate of the Commission includes staffing, recruitment, promotion, dismissal and disciplining of employees in the local government system. With the government’s abysmal showing in the 2016 Local Government Elections, it wants to ensure that it makes all the appointments in the Local Authorities, with special attention to the seven (7) Regional Democratic Councils and the forty-eight (48) Local Authorities Areas won by the PPP/C. The government wants to ensure that they have utter control in the selection and appointment over those persons employed to these elected bodies prior to the appointment of the LGC. This is the grand plan behind the delay.
Taken in isolation one may think that this is the usual incompetence we are confronted with on a daily basis by this government. However, a dangerous pattern is emerging that is undermining the constitution and the role and functions of constitutional bodies. There are now too many examples to ignore this pattern of executive interference and undermining of constitutional bodies. To quickly list these instances:
-the non-appointment of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission after 9 months following the President‘s rejection of 12 nominees of high standing in our society;
-the halting of promotions of the members of the Guyana Police Force on the instruction of the President to the Police Service Commission;
– the removal of the Chairman and member of the Public Service Commission despite a court ruling and his subsequent replacement by the President;
-the non-appointment of 4 Judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission for over a year and the re-arrangement of the members of this Commission to allow for a different set of judges to be appointed;
– the manipulation of the budgetary provisions of the constitutional bodies in 2016 and 2017 Budgets and supplementary financial papers in violation of the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability ( Amendment ) Act 2015. The Local Government Commission is becoming another casualty of executive lawlessness.
Gail Teixeira, M.P.,
Chief Whip Parliamentary Opposition

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