To solve the impasse over the non-functioning Local Government Commission (LGC), the parliamentary Opposition has plans to convene a consultation with members of the coalition after the next sitting of Parliament.
This is according to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, when asked about the fact
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
that Government is yet to even submit a list of nominees. As there is no LGC in place, the Ministry of Communities exercises many of its functions in Local Authority Areas (LAA).
“The next sitting of Parliament we’re going to be convening a consultation on this issue. And once the consultation is done, then I will resubmit the nominees,” Jagdeo noted. “(Minister of Communities, Ronald) Bulkan had said we didn’t consult with all the parties in the Parliament. So, he is using that as an excuse not to appoint the Commission.”
According to Jagdeo, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) did not agree with there being a need to consult with all the parties in Parliament. Rather, he noted that this should apply to parties that are in the Opposition.
“Nevertheless, to take away the excuse from the Minister that we have to consult with all the parties in Parliament, we propose to do so at the next sitting. Immediately after those consultations, we’ll resubmit the nominees.”
The next sitting of Parliament is scheduled for Thursday, June 15.
Although the parliamentary Opposition named its nominees to the LGC since last
Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan
year, the Government has so far failed to make any nominations. This has resulted in a deadlock.
In a recent interview, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall recalled that the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC), when trying to garner votes ahead of the General and Regional Elections, in its campaign, had advocated for the Commission to be established.
That was over two years ago and now, the establishment of the Commission was at a stalemate. Nandlall noted that the Commission was a fundamental part of the bills that APNU and the AFC, as Opposition parties in the House, had pushed through using their combined majority.
“Clearly, at the time, the APNU/AFC never thought that they would be in government,” Nandlall posited. “When they eventually got into government, they were thrashed at the Local Government Elections. As a result, the PPP controls a majority of the Local Government Organs throughout the country.”
Comparing the inordinate delay with the LGC to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) imbroglio, Nandlall suggested that the Government was simply stalling and buying itself time by not nominating the Commissioners. And he gave reasons why.
“The constituting of the Commission would result in the loss of power of Minister (of Communities, Ronald) Bulkan over these Local Government Organs,” Nandlall said. “This power would move to the Commission, which is supposed to be comprised of nominees of both the Leader of the Opposition and the Government.”
“The Government obviously wants to continue to undermine the autonomy of these elected Organs by controlling them through ministerial dictate, thereby defeating the will and franchise of the electorate at the Local Government Elections and preventing the elected representatives from discharging their lawful and democratic mandate,” Nandlall had said.
Broken promises
Responding to challenges from the media last year, Minister Bulkan had, on several occasions, promised to have the Commission established within 2016. He even set deadlines.
One such deadline was March 2016. When asked during the latter part of that month for an explanation on the further delay, the Minister had moved the deadline to the end of June. Bulkan was quoted in sections of the media explaining that not only had Cabinet not considered candidates, but there was no accommodation for the body.
In the 2016 budget estimates, some $30 million was allocated by the Government to the non-functioning Commission. When asked, Bulkan had stated that this was to allow the Commission to operate independently of Central Government.
That was last year and in spite of these promises and protests from citizens against the delay, there was no functioning Local Government Commission. There have been calls for Government to release the qualifications of all Regional Executive Officers, to ensure that their positions were secured through merit and not political allegiance.
This came in the wake of reports that in some Local Authority Areas, officials were being appointed without any vacancy being advertised. In addition, there have been reports that young, qualified applicants are being overlooked in favour of other, more elderly appointees with questionable qualifications.
Article 78 (a) of the Constitution of Guyana sets out that “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.”
The Commission would, among other things, have control over who get appointed as officials in the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and other local authorities. In addition, it would have to approve budgets for the NDCs.
By law, the Commission is to be made up of eight members. These members will include four nominated by the Government, one from the unions and three nominees from the Leader of the Opposition.
Former acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba and former Local Government Ministers Norman Whittaker and Clinton Collymore were nominated as the PPP/C’s representatives on the Local Government Commission.
In addition, the Committee on Appointments had recommended that Andrew Garnett, of the Guyana Local Government Officers Union, be appointed as the union representative. This means that the Government is the only stakeholder yet to fulfil its responsibilities to nominate representatives to the Commission.
