By Svetlana Marshall

PRESIDENT David Granger is calling on the municipalities and regional councils to foster an environment of cooperation, rather than confrontation.Since hosting of the historic Local Government Elections on March 18 this year, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council and the Region Five Democratic Council (RDC) have been marred by internal conflicts.

There appears to be a struggle for power ongoing between City Mayor Patricia Chase Green and Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan. The division between the two, who represent the political alliance APNU+AFC, became visible with the announcement of the controversial parking meter project.

In Region Five, the standoff between Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal and councillors aligned to the APNU+AFC has entered its seventh month.
A recent attempt to hold a statutory meeting of the council was met with the staging of an impromptu and disruptive cultural show, with APNU+AFC councillors pounding objects on the desks, including their fists, and breaking into folk songs every time the Regional Chairman attempted to speak.

They are demanding that the Regional Chairman apologize for boycotting a presidential function which was held in the region.
CONSULTATION
Amid this internal bickering, the President is calling on local and regional leaders to unite.
“Cooperation, rather than confrontation; I think that is the political culture that we are trying to instill and inculcate in Guyana. I lead a six-party coalition; it is based on consultation, it is based on cooperation, and the mood should permeate these councils,” President Granger said as he addressed the issue on his weekly televised show, Public Interest.

Just days ago, the President called on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council to engage the citizens of Georgetown in consultation on critical matters, and advised them to avoid the escalation of an adversarial relationship between the council and the people.

The President made these comments even as he pledged not to interfere in the work of any of the councils across Guyana.

“Georgetown is a national capital, and not just any other municipality. It is the capital of the entire state, and there needs to be responsiveness on the part of the council to the central government’s interest [and] the national interest. I actually advised that every member of the council was responsible for a particular constituency, and they should visit their constituencies…

“My own view is that there should be greater consultation. That is the message I had felt that I had transmitted to the mayor and councillors: that, in everything they did, they need to be assured of not necessarily compliance, but consultation with the stakeholders, whether it is the vendors or other people…,” the President had said.

He said that while it is understood that some changes are necessary for the development of the capital city and the lives of the residents, it is also imperative that consultations be held, so that citizens feel included, and their opinions taken into consideration.

“Vending is a legitimate economic activity, and if there needs to be changes in accordance with sanitary rules or safety rules, there should be consultations and adequate preparations for the vendors. Similarly, in other matters, now the matter of the parking meters has arisen and the matter of container tax, I would urge the Mayor and City Council to embark on a consultative process,” he said, while emphasizing that he would not interfere in municipal processes.

President Granger also reminded councillors that the return of local democracy in Guyana, after an absence of more than two decades, means that their re-election to office is entirely dependent on their performance over the next two and a half years, not their personality or party affiliation; and, as such, this should take this into consideration in every decision they make.

President Granger had, in June, also paid a visit to the city council and called on councillors to unite.