Committed to good governance – Respecting the Constitution

Oct 29, 2017 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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History was created and our democracy was strengthened on Monday October 23, 2017 with the swearing- in of members of the Local Government Commission.
In the words of His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, the swearing-in signified the APNU+AFC administration’s commitment to good governance, to respecting the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana; to reinforcing local democracy and regulating the management of communities and neighbourhoods.
The Constitution (at Article 78A) mandates Parliament to : “…establish a Local Government Commission, the composition and rules of which empower the Commission to deal with, as it deems fit, matters related to the regulation and staffing of local government organs and with dispute resolution within and between local government organs.”
Guyana is too large to be effectively or efficiently managed by a central government. Article 71(1) and 74(1) of the Constitution provide for devolution and specifically entrust the task of managing and developing communities to their residents and their respective local democratic organs.
One of the most despicable practices of the Peoples Progressive Party while in government was the tendency to make agreements and unilaterally refuse to implement them. Despite its solemn promise in 2011 to the people of Guyana for the holding of local government elections – they failed to hold them.
In 2015, the APNU+AFC coalition made a promise to the people of Guyana that it would implement comprehensive local democratic reform. In our Manifesto we promised that within one hundred days we would set the date for local government elections. On March 18, 2016, after an absence of more than two decades, local government elections were held in nine towns and sixty-two Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.
In his address to the new Commissioners, President Granger noted that Local democracy was an essential element of governance. He said, “It is the form of administration at the third and lowest tier of administration beneath the regional and national administrations. It is explicitly provided for in the Constitution which states (at Article71(1) that: Local Government is a vital aspect of democracy and shall be organized so as to involve as many people as possible in the task of managing and developing the communities in which they live.
The principle objectives of local government are to involve as many persons as possible in the management and development of the communities and neighbourhoods in which they live and to promote the economic, environmental, cultural and social wellbeing of citizens.
The establishment of the Local Government Commission, and the oversight which it will provide over the local government system, will safeguard, strengthen and promote these objectives. The Local Government Commission, therefore, can:
-Provide for the autonomy of local democratic organs in accordance the Constitution (at Article 75):
-prevent unlawful, executive and political intrusion into the work of local government organs; and
-promote greater efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services to the citizens and their communities.
With the Commission now in place, the Coalition is well on its way to completing the phased implementation plan for the devolution and decentralization of significant sections of central government. Already four new Capital towns have been identified, they are Mabaruma in the Barima Waini–Region No 1, Bartica in the Cuyuni Mazaruni -Region No 7, Mahdia in the Potaro-Siparuni Region No 8, and Lethem in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo- Region No 9.
Training of human resources and capacity building has already started so as to enable a culture of good governance to flourish in these new local government areas. Central government is providing technical, material, administrative and financial resources to local democratic organs to equip and enable them to function with the autonomy envisaged by Article 75 of the Constitution.
Three of the Capital Towns (Mabaruma, Bartica and Lethem) have already been upgraded to township status, each with its own Mayor and Councillors. The new towns are now able to provide all the services that other Municipalities offer. These services include sanitation, banking, and other governmental services. It is expected that in the not too distant future, services such as the provision of Passports and Drivers’ licences will also be made available.
The devolution of power and decentralization of services enable residents of the new towns to remain within their township, thereby precluding them from having to travel all the way to Georgetown to access such services. It also provides for citizens in the communities where they live, to participate fully in self- government.

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