Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 18, 2014 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
The 83 founders of the Village of Victoria must be turning in their graves, now beholden to the state to which their iconic African Settlement Village has been reduced.
The situation in Victoria is just but one example of local government dysfunction that exists in communities across the entire country. It clearly points to having the system reinvigorated with new leaders and new policies of governance, to ensuring autonomy of central government and to preventing the bureaucratic stymieing of community development work.
One of the first codes of local government in Guyana was accredited to the East Coast Village of Victoria, born in 1845 from the newly freed African slaves’ desires to effectively manage and develop their communities. This was the ultimate premise of local government, upon which they had hoped their village would be assured of prosperity for years to come. The system worked well to drive a thriving, rich and diverse farming community, lifting the spirits of the former slaves into a new age of good fortune and was later adopted as the model for other villages. This glorious system of self-management has, in recent times, become altered, disregarded and now virtually abandoned.
Lack of local government elections has led Victoria, like many other communities across the entire country – including the former Garden City of Georgetown, now fitting to its newest name, “The Garbage City of Georgetown” – to become overwhelmingly unpleasant. A walk through Victoria, Georgetown or many other communities across the country would quickly reveal their unsightly state of disrepair. Deplorable roads and dilapidated bridges along with garbage piles strewn along walkways, at markets, roadsides or in drains as well as poor irrigation are the typical examples of blemishes in our communities.
There are 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and 6 municipalities (towns) spread across Guyana and local government elections provide a platform for the emergence of genuinely elected leaders in each one. That amounts to 65 democratically elected community leaders and 6 mayors. Unlike the national stage, where leaders are elected based on their gargantuan, expensive campaigns, among other unbecoming tactics, one cannot court a grassroots community’s vote unless one is indeed a man or woman of the people. And, what else characterizes true democracy and genuine leadership than when a man or woman of the people is elected? What then if throughout the country, only genuine local leaders are elected? Perhaps it could mean a list of worthy candidates for our country’s ultimate leadership role as the head of state. One can only hope, but it is clear this is yet another compelling reason local government elections are needed in Guyana.
Central government, through the Ministry of Local Government, has interfered in the day-to-day management of the local government bodies by creating “red tape” and circumventing the authority of the bodies. This has triggered a systematic collapse of many NDCs and municipalities over the years, leading to the imposition of interim management committees that do not represent the people’s interests.
Some of the issues affecting these organs include an outdated property valuation, arbitrary laws and regulations, absent laws and regulations, lack of, and delays in resource allocations, delays in required approvals of transactions and short changed rates and taxes on revenue due.
The Ministry of Local Government was enshrined with the authority of an oversight body, but has seen fit to intervene in all matters that should be left to the local democratic organs to resolve. In fact, another reason the organs were established was to ease the strain on central government through the devolution of such powers. But the current regime seems bent on holding onto such powers, even if it means breaching the constitution to do so. This constitutional breach and the unsustainability of the current system are further reasons Guyana needs local government elections.
Local government elections are needed because they represent the essence of democracy and comprise the cornerstone of grass roots involvement, in a society that aspires to have the maximum political involvement of its people. It stimulates more people to become involved in the political process, avoiding apathy because they now have a chance to address specific issues affecting them.
As Mayor Hamilton Green once said, “local government is vital to governance because it provides the means for ordinary people to be able to do things for themselves and release their creative energy.” Local government elections are needed in Guyana not only because they are a constitutional requirement overdue for 17 years, but they also are needed to reverse the scourge of disdain visited on our communities, which have descended into a situation of derelict and disrepair.
Mario Joseph
Blue CAPS
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