PRESIDENT David Granger in an outreach to the Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo Region Nine last week charged residents to take responsibility for the prosperity and development of their villages, communities and region, and ultimately the country.
This undoubtedly was a clarion call to the people, signalling a time for action, which should not be ignored. It is a charge likely to resonate with those who feel regional government is being under-served, hamstrung or held hostage to political machinations.

The 1980 Guyana Constitution which established a regional system to be managed by Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) empowers Parliament to make laws for these local democratic organs to be autonomous and raise their own revenues, which are being channelled in the President’s view. Thirty-seven years after, unlike the towns and the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils which are allowed the autonomy to make their own (by) laws, establish their own police/constabulary systems and raise revenues for their daily operation, the RDCs are not so empowered.

Management of the regions is in large part subject the national Government’s decisions, programmes, allocation of revenues, and the agenda of the political directorate. Woe onto the people of the region if that government considers them not one of theirs as has happened in the not-too-distant-past.

Deprivation of involvement and equitable treatment have proven to be polarising, hindering the regions from forging harmonious relations among its peoples and the benefits, intrinsic and extrinsic, that can be derived from ownership and wanting the best for the community. Given these limitations and discriminatory practices, it would not be unfair to say that the regional system has been stymied and was never given the opportunity to properly utilise its human and physical resources, consistent with its objective.

Regional Government is the second tier of government, formed with the intent of devolving power to the people in their quest for self-determination. An advantage of regionalism is that the regional leadership has the opportunity to interact more frequently with the citizenry and obviously will get better understanding of the desires of the people, the problems that exist, and the people working together in resolving them. This level of interaction also brings with it a greater sense of accountability and improvement to local democracy, which are elements of good governance.

Since the regional system was established, the People’s National Congress (PNC) was in office for 10 years, the People’s Progress Party/Civic (PPP/C) for 23 and A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), two. Suffice to say, without getting into finger-pointing, though all governments must be held to account, the operationalising of the system has fallen woefully short.

The initiative by President Granger for flags depicting each of the 10 administrative regions, while it may appear symbolic, signals an intent to make the system work. The demarcation and unique identity that the flags represent for each region should now see collaborative efforts in using their resources for development of the people. Making ownership possible will require instituting legislative structures that allow for economic, political, security and other autonomous measures.

Such could include granting each region the opportunity to create their own security system and revenue base derived from the resources therein and services provided. This would also facilitate some level of competition among the regions that push and facilitate inter-dependency which are healthy indicators for development.

The RDCs and people in the regions should no longer be made to feel that investment in them hinges on political allegiance to central government, neither should any region have to be deprived for not supporting the government in office. Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, would be expected to follow through on President Granger’s call. And given that regional independence is past due, regional chairmen/chairpersons should grab the proverbial bull by the horns and initiate conversations among themselves and work collectively with the regional Members of Parliament and Ministry of Communities to realise a constitutional requirement.