The PPP must be judged on its record and not its rhetoric

Oct 21, 2018 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

---

Lest we forget, the Peoples Progressive Party – PPP – in its 23 years in office showed scant regard for local democracy. The PPP showed little interest in empowering the people in order for them to exercise greater control of their daily lives. However, to hear the PPP leaders on the local government election campaign trail, one might forget that these are the same rulers that stifled and trampled on local democracy and almost destroyed our system of local government.
It was clear that while in government the PPP was more concerned with concentrating power in the hands of its appointed Minister of Local and Regional Government. Over a period of time the PPP systematically undermined democratically-elected local councils and underdeveloped communities by impeding the provision of public services to residents. Neighbourhood and municipal councils were starved of funding, thus making then ineffectual.
PPP ministers of Local and Regional Development deliberately demolished numerous local democratic councils. They removed the elected councillors and replaced them with their ‘hand-picked’ placemen. The independence and integrity of the democratically-elected local councils were undermined by the PPP in order to maintain complete central control of all of the councils.

Interim Management Committees installed by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration

No. Date Place Minister responsible
1. 2013.07.10 Canals Polder Ganga Persaud
2. 2012.10.24 Industry/Plaisance Norman Whittaker
3. 2012.10.23 Bloomfield/Whim Norman Whittaker
4. 2012.10.23 Number 52 Village/Number 74 Village Norman Whittaker
5. 2012.10.23 Port Mourant/Johns Norman Whittaker
6. 2012.10.05 Anna Regina Ganga Persaud
7. 2012.10.01 Little Diamond/Herstelling Norman Whittaker
8. 2012.07.13 Kwakwani Ganga Persaud
9. 2012.05.24 Ireng/Sawariwau Ganga Persaud
10. 2012.05.24 Bartica Ganga Persaud
11. 2012.05.16 Maida/Tarlogie Ganga Persaud
12. 2012.05.16 Adventure/Bush Lot Ganga Persaud
13. 2012.05.16 Black Bush Polder Ganga Persaud
14. 2012.05.16 Kilcoy/Hampshire Ganga Persaud
15. 2012.05.16 Canefield/Enterprise Ganga Persaud
16. 2012.05.16 Ordnance /Fortlands Ganga Persaud
17. 2012.05.15 Enfield New Doe Park Ganga Persaud
18. 2012.05.05 Corriverton Ganga Persaud
19. 2012.03.01 Port Kaituma/Matthew’s Ridge/Arakaka Norman Whittaker
20. 2011.10.01 Better Hope / La Bonne Intention Norman Whittaker
21. 2011.09.28 Leguan Norman Whittaker
22. 2011.06.28 Mon Repos / La Reconnaissance Norman Whittaker
23. 2011.05.12 Macedonia / Joppa Norman Whittaker
24. 2009.09.30 Enmore / Hope Kellawan Lall
25. 2009.07.01 Blairmont / Gelderland Kellawan Lall
26. 2008.12.18 Mora / Parika Kellawan Lall
27. 2008.11.20 Kintyre/ Borlam Kellawan Lall
28. 2007.08.01 Stewartville / Cornelia Ida Kellawan Lall
29. 2007.07.01 Rosignol/ Zee Lust Kellawan Lall
30. 2007.05.01 Best/ Klien Pouderoyen Kellawan Lall
31. 2007.03.17 Crabwood Creek / Moleson Creek Kellawan Lall
32. 2005.03.21 Malgre Tout / Meer Zorgen Clinton Collymore
33. 2006.03.31 Tuschen / Uitvlugt Clinton Collymore
34. 2005 Rose Hall Clinton Collymore
35. 2004.06.24 Cane Grove Clinton Collymore
36. 2003.11.29 Linden Clinton Collymore
37. 2003.08.19 Bath / Woodley Park Clinton Collymore
38. 2002 Eccles/Ramsburg Clinton Collymore

The PPP in its 2011 Manifesto promised local government elections, but it never happened. Ramotar made what many thought was a solemn promise in his party’s election Manifesto – Working Together for a Better Tomorrow – He wrote: “In the area of local government and governance, the next PPPC government will ensure, within one year of the 2011 general and regional elections, that local government elections are held, bringing much needed reinvigoration into local government entities.”
We all know that Ramotar and the PPP failed to keep that promise and refused to implement an amended bill passed by the National Assembly calling for those elections to be held by 1st August 2014 and stubbornly resisted a sustained campaign by A Partnership for National Unity, civil society and the international community to hold local government elections.
The PPP administration procrastinated and ignored the calls and demonstrations by David Granger and APNU for local government elections. The PPP rejected calls from the ambassadors and high commissioners of the USA, UK, Canada and the European Union for the holding of local government elections.
The diplomats had stated jointly, in 2013, “Given the importance and pressing need for effective local governance we believe that 2013 should be a watershed moment for the people of Guyana – the year they can once again democratically elect their local government…. the institutions and practice of local governance have withered on the vine.”
Some foreign missions, together with local, non-governmental organisations, again in 2014 issued a joint statement expressing their collective hope that local government elections would be held by 1st August 2014.
They declared, among other things, “…the legislative foundation is in place for elections by August 1. The election machinery is ready. The political parties have reaffirmed their desire to hold local elections and are making campaign preparations. It is therefore our hope – as the PPP/C, APNU, and AFC pledged in their 2011 elections manifestos – that local government elections will be held, “bringing much needed reinvigoration into local government entities. That is something all parties and civic stakeholders should agree on in 2014.”
The PPP’s reluctance to hold local government elections was even exposed by the Chairman of the Elections Commission. Given the passage in the National Assembly of the Local Authorities (elections)(Amendment) Bill which had provided for local government elections to be held by 1st August 2014, the Chairman announced in March that the Elections Commission was ready to “go into election mode” as soon as the date for local government elections was fixed.
None of this moved the PPP, they continued to ignore the will of the people and were thrown out of office in May 2015.
Let it be clear, the PPP must be judged on its record and not its present populists’ rhetoric. The PPP while in office destroyed our system of local democracy and created an unbalanced and undemocratic state. Thanks to APNU, Jagdeo et al are campaigning in their second local government elections in three years, a feat the PPP failed to accomplish in over two decades.

---

---