Over two years after laws were passed providing for the establishment of a Local Government Com-mission, such a body is yet to be established despite strident calls by APNU and the AFC when in opposition, for it to be set up.
It is not clear whether Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan has issued a Commencement Order for the Local Government Commission Act to take effect. Despite numerous calls and a visit to his office, Bulkan has not been available to Stabroek News over the past weeks. Last year, Bulkan had been critical of then Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker for not moving to operationalise the Commission. His party, APNU, had also called numerous times for the Commission to be established.
Further, one of the AFC’s key demands for its support of anti-money laundering legislation last year was the