Bulkan, Teixeira trade barbs over delayed establishment

Local Govt Commission

By: Devina Samaroo And Shemuel Fanfare

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira

Ronald Bulkan
Ronald Bulkan
Gail Teixeira
Gail Teixeira

are at loggerheads over who is to be blamed for the delay in the establishment of the Local Government Commission.

During an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, Bulkan said he is waiting on Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to submit the names of three nominees to sit as representatives on the Co mmission.

The minister indicated that those outstanding names have been holding up the process, noting that if the Parliamentary Opposition does not make those submissions soon, he will go ahead and establish the Commission without them.

However, Teixeira was completely taken aback by those remarks, insisting that it is a clear demonstration that government does not know what needs to be done.

She explained that before the Parliamentary Opposition submits the names, the Communities Minister is required by law to formally write the Opposition Leader on the matter.

Teixeira emphasised that the minister was constantly reminded of this task but to date, the Opposition Leader is yet to receive a formal letter.

“The Leader of Opposition by law, the President by law shall appoint a certain number of people. The Act talks about the minister responsible for local government triggering this. The Minister of Communities has to trigger the action to write the Leader of the Opposition to say according to section so and so of the Act, we require the following… I’ve raised this matter over and over again,” Teixeira asserted.

The parliamentarian explained that the Parliamentary Committee overseeing the process is also required to submit a nominee, which it did approximately one month ago.

This recommendation was supposed to be brought to the House; however more than three sittings have gone by and there has been no move on the matter.

“There seems to be no haste on the government’s side to get the motion into the parliament,” she expressed.

Teixeira maintained that the Opposition ought not to be blamed for the delay in the establishment of the Commission since the ball is in the minister’s court to start the process by first writing Jagdeo.

“Mr Bulkan believes that Dr Jagdeo will sit there one night and out of the blue say ‘ooh! He needs these names, let me give it to him.’ It’s not going to work like that. We are running a government and a country and not in the whimsical fancies of Minister Bulkan. There is law. He must also, and I assume he has done it as Cabinet Minister, advise the president that he needs a number of names from him…He can’t blame us for not putting up the Local Government Commission,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Bulkan had noted that only one member from the government side has been confirmed to serve on the commission, while other nominees are yet to be confirmed.

He added that if the Opposition Leader does not submit the names, the Commission will be established without those representatives.

He noted too that a lease for the premises has to be approved and signed by Cabinet.

Nonetheless, he expects the Commission will be fully operationalised by the end of June.

Following the historic return of Local Government Elections (LGE), tensions and controversy has surrounded the establishment of some of the local democratic organs.

As such, calls were made for the establishment of the Local Government Commission (LGC) which will have oversight on the various local authorities in the country.

Government had promised to have this Commission functioning since early 2016.

The Commission would ensure that directives on local government matters are issued by the LGC rather the subject minister.

The commission will be tasked with monitoring and assessing the performance of the local government organs, administer disciplinary action, and implement policies such as tax collection.