Latest update January 7th, 2025 4:10 AM
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Local govt. commissioners need to go back to the drawing board
Dear Editor,
The last local government elections saw some private individuals and groupings running for position in the municipalities and NDCs. It meant that the commission on Local Government had some insight on what is needed, but it did not go the whole nine yards.
The members of the commission, being MPs affiliated to various political parties, had to represent the common interest of their respective parties – making sure that LGE provides a census of the support for their respective parties in the communities across Guyana.
Did that census improve the quality of local governance around Guyana? It did not. All it did was to install politically-affiliated people – who have no real interest in improving conditions in their communities – into the hierarchy of the NDCs and the municipalities because the parties – not the people in the communities – wanted these people to be there and given our high polarisation, the people willingly contributed to their own demise.
Look at the parking meter fiasco and other issues. Over the past year, the Mayor and City Council matched “oil and Gas” tit-for-tat in the news – all for negative reasons. Georgetowners, like the rest of the country, were duped into putting politics before people – now they are reaping it. Team Benschop would have done better!
Agitations and tensions within councillors are rife at the NDCs. The quality nor quantity of services to the people did not improve and will not improve under the present LG system. Political insularity into the system of Local Government (LG) defies the whole purpose of what LG should be.
Local Govt. elections should be about people with interest in their communities vying for position to improve the living conditions and welfare in their communities. In my opinion, the names of political parties should not be on the ballot of LGE – the commissioners should have gone the whole nine yards – political expediency reigns supreme over their patriotic instinct.
It is a reflection of how the politicians continue to poison this country by politicising every square inch for their own selfish or partisan purposes. Taking politics into every nook and cranny of our daily live does nothing more than polarise us deeper.
Social cohesion will be nothing more than a dream if this continues. One people, One nation, One destiny will remain nothing more than a mirage. In the interest of unity, the commissioners need to be sent back to the drawing board to erase the names of the political parties from the local govt. ballots. That will not happen, given the configuration of the commission and the political allegiances of the commissioners, unless the people demand it. As for the people, an estimated 80% supporters of APNU and the PPP will not entertain any ideas or thoughts unless it comes from the mouths of their political leaders.
Does any one of the political leaders have the fortitude to “bell the cat”? I think not. This does not augur well for local Governance. I saw in the news, the AFC was undecided about going outside of the coalition to contest the LGE. Given their perceived performance in the coalition and the general lack of performance of the Coalition, their head count of support will be dismal.
APNU’s support may wane somewhat. The PPP will be the only party benefiting from this head count. Will that do anything for Guyana? It will only help to polarise us further. The president or someone in parliament should get the local Govt. commissioners back to the drawing board to get the parties’ names off the LGE ballots. If not, people should boycott these elections until they do so.
Rudolph Singh
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