The local government reforms of 2013 appear grounded in what Desmond Hoyte pejoratively referred to as “local government per se” (reforming local government for reform’s sake), and in this spirit I will begin this examination of the Bills that were recently passed by the National Assembly but are still to be assented to by the president. But even so, we should keep in mind that an important selling point of the drafters, particularly those in the opposition, was that these reforms will give significantly more power to local communities.
I will deal with what I believe to be the more important aspects of the legislation, starting with the Local Government