The local government system apart from deepening and widening democracy is crucial to providing very important services to communities and villages including garbage collection, cleaning and maintaining of residential drainage systems, overseeing environmental health etc. In order to ensure these services are provided in an efficient and effective manner the local government bodies and institutions must be properly constituted and function properly. However, we have had to endure a very unfortunate situation because of the absence of local government elections for over a decade and a half, which has resulted in nearly all the local bodies disintegrating and functioning at minimal efficiency levels.
Consequently, the delivery of services to residents has plummeted dramatically over recent years and what is happening in Georgetown is a typical example of the breakdown in this regard.
At the same time, because of the poor state of the local government bodies, central government and regional administrations are now burdened with taking up the resulting slack and therefore their attention is diverted from the bigger issues which they should be primarily concerned with. And the longer this situation continues the greater will be the suffering of residents.
The remedy of this situation of course lies in the holding of local government elections so that the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Municipalities could become properly constituted and fully operational. But the optimism that we would have the elections early this year has died and from all indications it may be held in the latter half of this year. This disappointment has been shared by the
General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Mr. Donald Ramotar who opined that even though disappointed that the Local Government Elections will not be held at month end, the PPP is willing to work together with the main opposition party to make sure that all the bottlenecks are cleared and the voting can take place as early as possible.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle recently on Tuesday, Ramotar said, very clearly, there is a need for the renewal of local democracy and this was evident last week when two days of heavy rain raised issues in Georgetown and some villages.
“However, I understand the position of the government, in trying to avoid controversy in elections processes whether they be national or local government,” Ramotar said.
He continued: “I think we have to work within the Select Committee (of Parliament) which has been established. As you know, we were trying to do our best to have these Local Government Elections. We pushed through the elections bills so that the Elections Commission can do their work.
“The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) was objecting. It was true that there was agreement that we will put all five bills together. But, because we never envisaged that it would have taken so long to do this work and, because of that, we were trying to push the bills through as fast as possible and you know that the PNCR walked out of the Special Select Committee. They were not participating in the Special Select Committee.
“However, now I hope that they will participate and we can work together and come to a consensus on the remaining legislation that is to be passed,” Ramotar stated.
Last month, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that that the parties will be making one last attempt to resolve issues regarding the local government elections legislation.
He said the PPP/C has agreed to one last attempt at bringing closure to the outstanding pieces of reform legislation, in Parliament, for the hosting of local government elections.
While it is encouraging that the ruling party and government has expressed its willingness to resolve the outstanding issues pertaining to local government reforms, a similar message is not emanating from the opposition which is giving an impression that there is no sense of urgency on a matter of such grave national importance. The main opposition party has expressed its unwillingness to participate in the elections without the successful passage of reform legislation.
We are in a situation where we have to put country first and put partisan interests aside, because a thriving local government system is an imperative in the national developmental process and therefore we have to strive towards holding local government elections as soon as possible.
A.B.M.S. Zahur a former Bangladesh joint secretary perhaps sums it up well:
“The local political systems are usually more important than the national, insofar as they enable the citizens to have a feeling of contact with the government, and act as a training ground for future statesmen and politicians. Experience of administration on local level can teach someone about political action, which helps him to better understand the needs of the wider community. In this way, local politics affords invaluable opportunities, and gives an insight into wider political activity and political justice. Local political venues are important arenas for political education in general.”
“Our future statesmen and politicians, on becoming familiar with the world of politics and political affairs, can stand up to pressure and the tides of national fortune. They develop a political reliance, which is a critical national asset. This, in turn, helps the smooth political development of the country. Within the smallest political unit, the people get a better chance to know the art of politics, which ultimately brightens the prospect of their political leadership at the national level. Thereby, the cause of democracy is also served.”
“Local politics is very important for the political development of Bangladesh, particularly to strengthen its base for democracy. By making people politically conscious, it enables the people to establish a democratic society and administrative system. Local politics is different from national politics. In Bangladesh politics, the influence of political opportunists is prominent because the national level politicians are benefited by local level leaders who are usually elected on the strength of their wealth and muscle power, and not for their love and respect for the people.”