Dear Editor,
The problems and issues Mike Persaud (‘LBI-Better Hope NDC has not addressed a range of problems,’ SN, Mar 11) identifies in the LBI-Better Hope NDC are common to virtually all the 71 NDCs and municipalities, and virtually none of the local governments has addressed them in any serious manner. It is not that the councillors don’t have the skill or ability to identify the problems or that they are unaware of issues facing the population. They simply lack the power and resources to address problems and issues facing communities. They can’t do as they like – make policies or engage in developmental projects. They must follow the dictates of the central government and their national parties which are not community or local government (LG) oriented. National parties like to have a tight control over local bodies and deny them independence and power.
The central government dominates the LGs starving them of resources to get things done, especially if the LG is not of the same party controlling the regional government or the central government. The councillors are not independent to do as they like, and many of them are not independent minded (pursuing an agenda free from centralized party control). And even if they are independent minded, they are instructed by their party national leadership on virtually every action or decision. If the councillors resist instructions from the centre, they are ostracized and easily replaced. It is for this reason that people should vote for independent candidates and small parties or candidates who have the courage to stand up to their party’s national leadership.
Voters should demand that they control their own destinies at the local level; power must be devolved away from the centre and towards the local bodies. The history of central government in Guyana has failed. The country has failed to develop because of central domination. It is time that the people be invested with power at the local level. The LGs don’t raise enough funds to meet basic expenses and as such ignore the problems communities face. The LGs should be given a reasonable budget (relatively equal in terms of population and size) and the autonomy to spend it. They should also be given power to raise their own funds (tax) and be free to undertake policies that benefit their own communities – have their own policing community, control over schools, infrastructure, housing, utility, etc.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
