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For many, the Local Government system has surely lost its true meaning
DEAR EDITOR,
The Kaieteur News of Sunday, March 31, 2019 on page 5 carried a letter under the caption ‘I question the use of subvention by the Ordnance Fortlands N.D.C.’, by one Godfrey A. Evans, a retired Overseer, a P.N.C. Councillor, and in paragraph three states, the Chairman and Vice Chairman took it upon themselves to construct a Chairman’s office within the N.D.C. Office leaving inadequate space for Councillors to sit during meetings.
Paragraph four states it is very congested and does not allow for public observation of Council Meetings. Also, they have constructed a wall so that tax payers cannot see or hear what is taking place at the meetings, and if the tax payers need to meet them to discuss problems that are affecting them they cannot do so because of the wall. No Chairman of any N.D.C. in Guyana has an office.
As for paragraph three, Section 38 (1) of the Local Government Act Chapter 28:02 Power of Chairman of Local Authority between meetings thereof – the Chairman of the Local Authority of a Village or Country District may between any two meetings of the authority, exercise all the executive powers of the Local Authority.
Section 38 (2) clearly states – All acts done by the Chairman under subsection (1) shall be reported to the Local Authority at the Meeting…. and any act of the Chairman of which the Local Authority disapproves shall be null and void.
As for paragraph (4), Section 29 of Chapter 28:02 District By-Laws – Meetings to be open. Every meeting of the Country Authority shall be open to the public unless the Country Authority otherwise directs.
A whole lot of things occurred during the period no Local Government Elections were held. Those of us who are old enough would know these meetings were always open to the public as per the By-Laws, but if you go to many of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council Offices there is no space or accommodation provided for Tax Payers to be present at these meetings; and on questioning the staff including the Overseer in relation to this issue you will get no answer.
I would use the Good Hope – Pomona N.D.C. as an example, this building is designed in a way so as not to accommodate the Tax Payers, who are desirous of being present at these very important statutory meetings, the area where the Councillors sits is airtight, with one door which, once the meeting starts, is closed. You can’t see or hear the discussion or deliberations which is public business and in public interest, but the public is excluded.
In the two decades-long period that no elections were held, there should have been at least five. For many, the Local Government system, which is the pillar on which democracy is constructed, has surely lost its true meaning, and people day by day have lost interest and many do not even know what local democracy means.
This is not an overstatement, but in Region Two in the Neighbourhood Democratic Council and the Municipality, more than two-thirds of the residents do not know who the Councillors are, or at least a quarter of their elected representatives. The same thing can be said about the Regional Democratic Council, I don’t believe three-quarters of the people in Region Two know one-third of the Councillors.
Let’s go back to Section 38 (1) Local Government Chapter 28:01. What is to happen or expected to happen if the Local Authority disapproves the action taken by the Chairman in a particular instance, where money has been expended, as in this particular case Mr. Evans is referring to?
Archie W Cordis
Former A.F.C. Councillor
Region # 2
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