Dear Editor,
Through a recent statement in the printed media, Minister Ronald Bulkan sought to convey to the general public that Local Government Elections would be held between November and December of 2018.
The required signal is necessary, since 2018 budgetary allocations towards this end were approved in the National Assembly. Additionally, the mandatory legal cycle for the elections ought to be complied with, and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as well as other key stakeholders must be given sufficient public notice.
Given that the legality of the present Chairman’s appointment is a matter before the court, his decisions can be ruled as meaningless or having no legal bearing.
GECOM has commenced work by having meetings and addressing issues that would have been otherwise completed were it not for the delays. There is, however, no clear position from GECOM regarding several outstanding issues, such as the regularisation of boundaries, which would have contributed to the tied result of several Local Government Areas in 2016; the required house-to-house verification of the list, and approaches to the cleansing of same through the removal of deceased persons.
It is hoped that Bulkan would have consulted meaningfully with GECOM before announcing his plans for elections. Would GECOM be ready?
I am advised that GECOM would be embarking shortly on another cycle of continuous registration. It is hoped that the staff complement for this exercise would be properly scrutinised, and transparent systems would be put in place to monitor the expenditures as well as staff performances for this important exercise. Notably, the two previous cycles of continuous registration were questionable in the sense that monies were lavishly spent on transportation and meals and very little was done to educate the new registrants and guide the population on the exercise.
In view of the Budget for GECOM being slashed by the Coalition, a new and vigorous recruitment policy should be put in place to address all the existing loopholes and prevent underhand recruitment. The Secretariat has messed things up so many times that its trust scale is at its lowest. In addition, the general public has not been made aware of any actions taken against the numerous scandals of misappropriation of cash and breaches of the Procurement Act and the IFMAS System. It is not business as usual.
It is of note that while GECOM is just dilly-dallying, the APNU arm of Local Government is continuing its breach of the Local Government Act, Chapter 28:02, as it relates to the functions of the Local Authority Areas. Recently, in Region Three, interviews for recruitment and renewal of contracts for the Community Enhancement Workers (CEW) were done by the Regional Administration without the knowledge of the Ministry of Communities. Is there a communication problem between the APNU boys, or are there infighting at the ministries and departments of Government?
The CEW were handed over to the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils by the Regional Administration on the behest and decision of the Ministry of Communities at the beginning of 2017. The workers signed contracts with the NDCs as their employer, with the salaries been paid through a disbursement from the Ministry. Why is it that in 2018, after the appointment of the Local Government Commission, the Regional Administration of Region 3 is conducting interviews for functions that fall under the mandate of the NDCs? It should be noted that this deviation from the norm has not taken place in any other region but Region 3. Why? Is it because the PPP/C controls 12 of the 14 NDCs in this region, with 1 been tied?
To add insult to injury, the interviewing panel in at least 1 NDC (Stewartville /Cornelia) breached all recruitment policies as they relate to fairness and the appointment of fit and proper persons for the related tasks. In fact, they recommended the employment of someone who had scored fewer points at the interview and has no experience or working knowledge of the drainage and irrigation in the community. The NDC should reject this politically directed imposition by the Regional Administration of Region 3.
But then again, one should not expect better from the APNU appointed officers of the Region; even their Chief can’t determine who is a fit and proper person.
Sincerely,
Neil Kumar
