Rose Hall wants municipal court
Rose Hall Deputy Mayor,Dave Budhu
Rose Hall Deputy Mayor,Dave Budhu

ROSE Hall Deputy Mayor,Dave Budhu has lamented the absence of a municipal court and magistrate to hear judicial and legislative matters regarding the town council.

As a result, Budhu expressed that such a situation places the municipality at great disadvantage. He was at the time making a presentation at the opening of the first ever municipal conference.

The conference, organised by the Interim Management Committee of the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM), opened at the Marriott Hotel Friday and continued Saturday at the Regency Suites Hotel.

It was held under the theme, “Positioning Municipalities as critical partners in national development” and provided an opportunity for officers of the country’s nine municipalities to rap on various local government issues affecting communities.

During his appeal, Budhu said: “We are all familiar with the adage, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ and given these small cases that emerge from the municipalities and the already over-burdened court system, one can only ask the question, ‘What will happen to these cases?

“The answer is very simple. It will take additional time to be heard and adjudicated. By this time, the perpetrator would have already built his house or complete the construction or continued to engage in unwanted dumping.

“So in this regard I am making an appeal to the Chancellor of the Judiciary to appoint a magistrate that could handle various municipal cases on a scheduled basis for all the municipalities in Guyana.”

On another point, Budhu offered that the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, was enacted in the laws of Guyana since 1969 with some minor amendments to date. As such, he believes that these laws are now ineffective.

“It is necessary for us to make further amendments that will guarantee its effectiveness and responsiveness towards municipal needs,” he noted.

He said the fines too, are usually inadequate and reflect weakness in the laws.
“We need to unite our efforts to pursue the Attorney General Chambers for consultation and legislative reform which can address these outdated fines.”

With the exceptions of the New Amsterdam and City Councils, Budhu noted that there is a noticeable absence of adequate by-laws to effectively run the municipality.

For instance, he said Rose Hall Town and Corriverton have been without building by-laws and will usually have to refer to the general provisions made under the Health Ordinance Act.

Budhu further recommended that by-laws regarding solid waste management also be pursued.

“In these by-laws, we should address issues of garbage separation, re-cycling and effective management of our sanitary landfill site,” he recommended.

 

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