Government has selected its nominees and prepared the infrastructure for the establishment of the Local Government Commis-sion, according to State Minister Joseph Harmon, who said the constitutional body would be “established soon” but would not give a date.
“We do expect within a short space of time; I cannot say tomorrow or the say after,” Harmon said yesterday when asked for an update.
Harmon told a post-Cabinet press briefing that government has identified its nominees and that the Ministry of Communities was in the process of selecting a building to house the commission
“I can say to you now that we have the names of the persons who are going to be there, but certainly the fact that we are looking for buildings and so on, it means we would have had some indication of people we are looking at. But I am not at liberty now to say who those persons are,” he noted.
“The Ministry of Commu-nities, they are actively taking steps to find a building to house the commission and ensuring that all of the processes—that we dot the I’s and cross all Ts, so that we find a suitable building. There are some buildings that have already been identified by that process… all of the other matters, like furniture and things like that, those are matters that we would have catered for already. It is now question of office space that is engaging the Ministry of Communities and that was the last report to cabinet by the ministry,” he added.
The opposition PPP/C has submitted the names of its nominees and has been lamenting government’s delay in identifying its nominees and the establishing of the commission.
On Tuesday, the PPP/C, picketed outside both the Ministry of the Presidency and the Ministry of Communities and charged that the delay is facilitating an attempt by the government to control local government bodies by completing the appointments of new Town Clerks and overseers in new local authorities.
Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, in a September interview with the Stabroek News, had committed to getting the commission set up by the end of the month, having failed to deliver by previous deadlines.
Harmon could not give a specified date for the submission of the coalition government’s nominees but says that government remains committed to having the commission established soon.
In 2014, President David Granger, while he was the Leader of the Opposition, had led demonstrations calling on the PPP/C government to have the commission functioning.
In July, the PPP/C had nominated former local government ministers Norman Whittaker and Clinton Collymore and former acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba as their representatives on the commission.
The Local Government Com-mission is provided for in Guyana’s Constitution. Article 78 (a) reads: “Parliament shall establish a Local Government Commission, the composition and rules of which empower the commission to deal with as it deems fit, all matters related to the regulation and staffing of local government organs and with dispute resolution within and between local government organs.”
Clause 13 (1) of the enabling legislation says that the commission shall have power to deal with all matters relating to the regulation and staffing of local government organs, including employment and dismissal of staff and with dispute resolution within and between local government organs, and in particular, shall monitor and review the performance and implementation of policies of all local government organs, including policies of taxation and protection of the environment.
It also has the power to monitor, evaluate and make recommendations on policies, procedures and practices of all local government organs in order to promote effective local governance; investigate any matter under its purview and propose remedial action to the minister, whenever or wherever necessary; monitor and review all existing and proposed legislation, and or policies and measures relating to local government organs and to make recommendations for any legislation or any amendments to any legislation and or policy to the minister; and examine and propose ways of enhancing the capacity of local government organs.
