Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan yesterday said that neither he nor President David Granger were ready to name their nominees for the long-delayed Local Government Commission (LGC) and he maintained that in its absence the local government system was functioning effectively.
“The pace of local government reform and relevance is not being hampered or stymied by the absence of this commission. It is proceeding apace. There are issues but the local government agenda is going forward,” Bulkan told Stabroek News yesterday, over one year after he said that the LGC, a constitutional body, would be set up.
The LGC, once constituted, will have the power to deal with all matters relating to the regulation and staffing of local government organs.
According to the legislation, the commission will be made up of eight members: three nominated by the President, one nominated by the minister after consultation with the 71 local government authorities, one nominated by unions operating in the local government sector and three nominated by the Leader of the Opposition after consultation with all parliamentary parties.
In April, 2016, the Committee of Appointments named Andrew Christopher Garnett, of the Guyana Local Government Officers’ Union as the nominee from the trade unions.
This nomination was approved by the House in August. In July, 2016, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo identified former Georgetown Town Clerk Carol Sooba and former Local Government Ministers Norman Whittaker and Clinton Collymore as his three nominees for the commission.
However, Bulkan maintained that the LGC will be operationalised once Jagdeo has stated whether he satisfied the requirements of the legislation and “consulted with all parliamentary parties.”
In February, 2017, Teixeira told Stabroek News that while her party recognizes that the intent of the regulation was for the opposition leader to consult all parliamentary opposition parties, the PPP/C was willing to play along and convene a consultation with all parliamentary parties to receive suggestions of nominees for the LGC.
Towards this end, the PPP/C has invited all political parties to a meeting to discuss the nominees for the LGC during the first break of the June 15, 2017 sitting of the National Assembly.
Teixeira told Stabroek News that she has written to General Secretary of APNU Joseph Harmon and AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan asking that they be present for a meeting to be held. Ramjattan responded to the May 23 letter saying he was too busy. Asked if he would also be too busy during the sitting of the Assembly, as the meeting was scheduled to occur during the break, Ramjattan told Stabroek News yes. “I have my work with me, which I complete during the break. They can’t just set a date and expect us to turn up if we already have other plans,” Ramjattan said. He said he expected Teixeira to contact another member of the AFC, such as party leader Raphael Trotman, to participate in the meeting.
Asked to comment on the PPP/C’s invitation, Bulkan said he was unaware that it had been issued. However, he said that the opposition has by its actions shown itself to be a hindrance to a strengthened local government system.
He noted that PPP-led local authorities have boycotted both the National Regional Development Consultative Committee held in January and the Municipal Conference held earlier this month. “Their action shows that they are not interested in this process. Their actions show they do not believe in autonomy of [local government authorities] as they are dictating the actions of democratically-elected groups,” Bulkan said.
Before becoming minister, Bulkan had been critical of 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 in 2014 was the signing of the commencement order for the Act to take effect.
But since winning the May 11, 2015 elections, the APNU+AFC government has not moved with alacrity to establish the body.
Under the law, the LGC will not only oversee municipalities and Democratic Councils but also Regional Democratic Councils as well as Amerindian Village Councils.
