An effective, functioning local government system is an integral and crucial part of any democracy because it deals with grassroot development and puts political power in the hands of the people.
Therefore, the absence of an effective, functioning local government system actually stifles and stalls development and the provision of vital services to the people.
In such a situation, greater pressure is placed on central government because it has to execute works which could have been executed by local government bodies. In such a scenario, there is a possibility that projects executed at the community level may be inappropriate as officials at  central government level may not have a proper grasp of the difficulties and challenges at the local level. And experience around the world has shown that in many cases people at the community level are dissatisfied when works are executed by central government without the involvement of local government bodies.
In any case, the global trend today is increasingly moving towards decentralisation and devolution of power.
According to Dr Pervez Tahir, a former chief economist of the Planning Commission and who is based in Lahore, Pakistan: “Even very high rates of economic growth fail to reach the poor if the service delivery falls upon a distant government. Hence the global trend towards decentralisation and devolution. Our provinces are large and there is a case for more of them, as the provincial capitals are too distant from vast regions. The right number of provinces would, however, still require devolution from the provinces to local governments. All politics, it is said, is local.”
He adds: “Parliamentary democracy is strengthened if local issues are addressed at the provincial level by devolving enough power and authority. Basic services and civic amenities affecting the people directly can be delivered and monitored effectively only at the local level.”
In our country, the local government system has virtually disintegrated because almost all the local government bodies and municipalities are in a state of dormancy or are dysfunctional. This has resulted in many communities not receiving proper services or no service at all, thereby frustrating residents who pay their rates and taxes but receive poor services from their respective Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. And there is no better example to illustrate this than the city of Georgetown which can be described as a model of mismanagement and run-down services.
The extremely long delay in the holding of local government elections, which was last held in 1994, has been mainly due to the two major political parties not being able to reach consensus on reforms of the local government system. In fact, the discussions reached a deadlock and little or no progress seems to have been made since the deadlock.
Recently, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud, made an extremely pertinent observation when he said the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development alone cannot decide on the holding of local government elections.
Support must come from the political will and Parliament in passing the remaining legislation.
However, it would appear that there is no sense of urgency in having local government elections and the reconstituting of the local government bodies so that development at the community level and provision of effective and efficient services to the people are restored.
But on an optimistic note, Minister Persaud indicated that these elections could be held this year. It will be left to be seen if the political opposition would provide the necessary support and cooperate to ensure that the elections fructify.