I READ with great delight and utmost happiness in your newspaper dated July 31, 2015 that Local Government Election (LGE) will be held sooner rather than later (December was touted as the tentative month). This, as many have said before, is long overdue and should have been called as early as yesteryear.

Having read the article I must congratulate the Honourable Minister of Communities, Mr. Ronald Bulkan, for not just fighting for LGE while in Opposition, but for ensuring the early holding of LGE under his watch as the subject minister.
This shows honesty and trustworthiness on the part of the minister and largely on the David Granger-led Government. What is even more delightful is the fact that the real power will be in the hands of the local bodies which would be elected by the people, for the people.
The passage of the most recent Local Government Bill in the National Assembly shows that this Granger-led Administration is not about absolute or maximum power, but rather about giving the people power.
In addition to the above, now that the people have been given the authority and power to elect local representatives of their choice to manage the affairs of their community without central government’s interference, they must and I reiterate, they must choose competent and well educated persons who are driven by success through hard work and determined to champion development.
Voters must screen the prospective candidates to ensure that they are more than capable of doing the job and doing it right. Two good traits to look for are their levels of activism in the community and how much they have been fighting for good governance with honesty during the corrupt previous regime – the PPP.
It would be most detrimental to one’s community if the same persons who were championing the PPP’s mandate during the general and regional elections be elected to serve as the local government councillors in your community; worst should one of them become chairman of an NDC.
I say this against the backdrop that we are seeing, almost every day, corrupt and ambivalent practices coming to light that these notorious vagabonds had been engaged in, ranging from transferring state vehicles to their ownership to buying river-front land for next-to-nothing money and surely not excluding the power to slap and strip whomsoever they think deserve it.
Anyone who is still associated with the PPP and is contesting the LGE should not be given power.
It would be a regret should we elect an associate of the PPP in the Local Government Election, considering the fact that they know fully well that the PPP had trampled on the rights of the people and robbed us of our tax dollars. Giving them power can only mean that they would do the same if elected.
In conclusion, I say without any fear of contradiction, let us be cognisant of the fact that this is a more serious election that the one recently held. It is more serious because we would be electing people to be servants who would be controlling resources that would have a direct impact on our lives. We must elect the blood that supports change and not just change, but change for the better. Vote for community leaders that are honest, reliable and willing to go beyond the call of duty to serve your interest. In other words, don’t vote for anyone who is aligned to the PPP. Remember a good leader is a great servant.

GANESH MAHIPAUL