Kellawan Lall, a former PPP/C minister of Local Government and Regional Development, once publicly-expressed a desire for a public-health crisis to occur in the city of Georgetown (KN, July 15, 2010). He predicted that public dissatisfaction could lead to dissolution by the government of the Georgetown City Council and its replacement by a government-controlled Interim Management Committee.
Kellawan Lall’s dream has become reality. The presence and prevalence of the chikungunya virus throughout the country are evidence of this. What the insensitive and myopic Lall did not understand is that a public health crisis does not discriminate in its choice of victims. It is no respecter of persons. It takes no account of geographic restrictions or of ethnicity, status, political affiliation or any such consideration.
All are involved; all are fair game to this nasty and crippling virus. It hardly needs saying that the spread of this virus is facilitated by the unkempt and unsanitary conditions in our communities which are ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, transmitters of this disease.
Communities across the country are crumbling. President Donald Ramotar, however, is dithering. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration, in its quest to maintain near-total control over people’s lives has now created and delivered a broken local government system, one effect of which is placing people’s health at risk. Fixing the broken state of communities requires decisive leadership that is informed by national and human consideration and not by narrow and selfish interests. Donald Ramotar, sadly, only offers the latter.
The people expect inspired and democratic leadership; Ramotar offers evasion, distortion and indecision. The PPP’s script as delivered by Donald Ramotar does not cater for people’s concerns or, in this instance, clean, safe, sanitary and well-ordered communities. Its preoccupation is with continued dominance and control over all decision-making.
The people’s needs are secondary; it is the PPP’s interests that are paramount. The Ramotar administration has brought the municipal and neighbourhood councils to their knees; it has done this by systematically under-funding these organs as well as deliberately undermining their authority and ability to function. This policy has resulted in inhibiting the development of these councils and impeding the provision of services to residents.
The 65 neighbourhood democratic councils and 6 municipalities, as a result, have been made ineffectual and dysfunctional. The result has been a near-total breakdown in local governance leading to unsafe, unkempt and unsanitary communities.
Donald Ramotar, if not the PPP, ought to be acutely conscious of the absolute need to attack the root-cause of this particular epidemic before others follow, this being the near-total breakdown in local governance. He has to abandon the failed policy of control and domination and immediately begin respecting constitutional provisions relating to local democracy. He should immediately too, cease the government’s policy of unlawfully interfering in the functioning of municipal and neighbourhood councils, damaging and degrading their capacity in the process.
Donald Ramotar’s vacillation is imperiling citizen’s health, welfare and well-being. The economy will be seriously and adversely affected too due to loss of productive man-hours. International travel to Guyana will be severely restricted and tourism will suffer, placing greater strain on tourist facilities. The already poor delivery of public health services will be further affected and suffer even more.
The demands of the Leader of the Opposition in his letter of September 9, 2014 to President Ramotar are merely to ensure that the President discharges his constitutional obligations to hold local government elections and complete the reforms agreed upon by Parliament following the 1997 General Elections!
Donald Ramotar must understand that the PPP/C administration does not have the prerogative to deny the people their constitutional right to local democracy. It is not a favour to be dispensed by the PPP/C whenever it chooses. It is an obligation, not an option, for the President to comply with the Constitution and to conform to the laws of the country.
Donald Ramotar should substitute care in place of his current callous approach to governance. He should unhesitatingly grasp the olive branch offered by David Granger and deliver the three constitutional requirements his administration is in violation of. The population must not be made to suffer due to the desire of the ruling clique to cling on to power and to deny people their constitutional rights.
History will not be kind to Donald Ramotar if he continues to make these monumental missteps.
