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Local Govt. Commission should handle its own budget – Commissioner Marlon Williams
Local Government Commissioner, Marlon Williams
Marlon Williams, a commissioner of the Local Government Commission (LGC), is calling for the commission “to be placed on the register of constitutional agencies” so that it could have greater autonomy, including control over its budget.
Though the LGC was already enshrined in the Constitution when the Local Government Commission Act 2013 was passed, the Commission’s constitutional right to determine and control its own budget has not been honoured, since the commission depends on the Ministry of Communities for financing.
Williams said this issue has limited the commission in a variety of ways. He stated that this is why the commission’s staff members, in excess of 30 people, have not been paid for the month of January. Additionally, he said that the commission has not been able to pay its utility bills.
He said that the effective functionality of the commission is threatened because the staff have not been paid.
The commission currently relies on the Ministry of Communities for funding.
It is the Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, who said on Tuesday last that what is paramount to the commission is accountability on its spending. The issue, which was raised on January 15, when the commission submitted documents for the ministry to countersign, prompted the ministry to uncover that the level of payment of staff exceeded that of public service levels.
Bulkan said that there was no authorization of increases from the Finance Ministry, and that the Communities Ministry is awaiting information from the LGC on its operational cost for 2019. Bulkan noted that the commission’s 2019 payroll is $113M, which accounts for 91 percent of the commission’s annual budget.
The Ministry of Communities is refusing to sign off on the operational cost requested by the commission, given that it has not yet received a cash flow and work programme; and that, if it were to approve the cost without these prerequisites, it would be in breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act of 2003.
The Local Government Commission is responsible for the oversight of all Local Government bodies. To do its job, Williams said, “It’s absolutely imperative that the commission be placed on the register of constitutional bodies so that it would not have to rely on the Ministry of Communities”.
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