Dear Editor,
The jury is out on the gamut on the overwhelming failures and continued abuse of this coalition Government on the Local Government system. The jury foreman indicates the strongest ‘acid-red readings’ on the proverbial PH Scale tests, of his lead in the Local Government spectrum. Their findings summarised, confirm the leading defendant Minister Ronald Bulkan guilty as charged on all counts.
After all the banter and delays in the appointment of the Local Government Commission (LGC), the Minister shamelessly continues to impose and undermining strategy of elected Councils that the coalition does not control. Aside from authorising his agents to usurp the authority of the Council on numerous fronts, he now oversees the continued frustration by deflating the support required by the Local Government Commission (LGC) which has the mandate to regulate the balance in this area.
It is extremely distasteful and abhorrent that an office for the LGC is yet to be established. The Commission cannot function without a ‘fit and proper’ office in the first place or without the supporting tools to aid their constitutional undertakings. Further, the Commissioners must be paid immediately and not held under duress as is being exercised by this coalition Government.
This frustration must stop now! The Minister must provide answers regarding how he expects mails addressed to the LGC to be delivered, and how he expects the Commissioners to move around to address matters in the Local Authority Areas (LAAs), they are mandated oversight responsibilities.
There are numerous problems and serious issues in the LGAs as the elected Councillors are struggling to implement their work programmes. There is lots of evidence that deliberately placed the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) political stooges as administrative staff, whose work ethics is disturbing to say the least. They are not pulling their weight as workers as assigned by the Councils in the LAAs, while reports to the Ministry have fallen on the deaf ears of the Minister who has forbidden the Councils from imposing disciplinary measures. As a consequence, the communities are not benefiting from the good intention of the elected Councillors.
Good and effective local governance is very important for the genuine all-round development in our Local Authority Areas. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Councillors are advised to hold regular meetings with their constituencies and interact with the residents, listen to the people’s concerns encourage them to make suggestions and foremost to genuinely represent the people’s interest at the statutory meetings of the Council.
Importantly, consultation and the sensitisation of villages and Local Authority Areas with plans for phase development activities are most welcome. The citizenry must be involved at all levels and all expenditures must be explained after, with proper financial accountability and prudent management systems in place. The people must receive answers to all their questions with reasonable explanations provided. Therefore, when the Government fails to support, the people must also be appropriately updated by the Councils.
In chartering the way forward, the collective opinions and support have to be seriously taken into account, since togetherness and all-inclusiveness will lead to greater achievement and massive synergies for a better life. However, the coalition is a myopic Government with a dull vision for progress and development, especially for Local Authority Areas that are controlled by the PPP.
It was hoped that with the Local Government Commission being in place, much work would have commenced towards the effective management of Local Authority Areas in the provision of services to the various communities but this seems far from materialising. The Commission cannot function without office space and support staff and the works of the Commission seem to be stagnated. Is this the Commission that the APNU/AFC coalition Government promised the nation in their manifesto?
Suffice to say it is the people who would impose the sanctions for the Balkans’ mal-administration and the accommodation of such by the APNU/AFC Coalition Government. Needless to say, it would not be unsurprising if there are further orchestrations in extending the sentencing date for the Jury’s pronouncements, by delaying the scheduled 2018 Local Government Elections.
Sincerely,
Neil Kumar
