PEOPLE’S Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) Neil Kumar has expressed frustration at what he called the Opposition’s procrastination as it relates to the process for holding local government elections.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, at his Middle Street, Georgetown office, yesterday, he said: “The Opposition only wants to procrastinate. They only want to frustrate the government and they have no interest in holding local government elections.”
Kumar noted that local government polls are long overdue since they are supposed to be held every two years but the last one was conducted in 1994.
He said the government has been making a genuine effort to hold the elections but, for different reasons, the Opposition wants to have local government reform.
Kumar observed that the government and the Opposition had established a task force which worked for many years. However, after several years, the group never came to a conclusion on the issue.
In addition, he said, last year in the Ninth Parliament, the government had agreed to set up a special select committee to discuss four local government bills.
Kumar reminded that all four local government bills were thoroughly discussed but the then leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin requested that they be revisited, even though the Election Commission Bill, which he said is the most important one for holding of local government elections, went to Parliament and was passed and assented to by former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
| The Guyanese people should be made aware that the Opposition is frustrating the efforts of the Ggvernment to discuss the local government bills and, subsequently, hold local government elections. |
Still, Kumar said that, Government concurred to go back and look at the four bills in the Tenth Parliament.
“So we set up a special select committee. In the special select committee, the government, desperately, wants us to solve this issue and get local government elections,” he asserted.
FIRST MEETING
He said, at the committee’s first meeting in December, the Opposition had demanded to be represented by five persons while the government had four representatives.
Kumar explained though, that at that time, the Opposition only had four persons since an Alliance For Change (AFC) representative was not in the country. He said, further, the government side nominated Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud for Chairman of the committee and the Opposition named A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) MP Basil Williams. As such, both sides had four votes each.
“Right away we had a big issue and we had to wait for weeks and then, when the Opposition got their full contingent of five – that is with the AFC representative who was out of the country, they called back election for the select committee. And the Opposition used their one seat majority and voted Basil Williams as the Chairman of the Local Government Committee,” Kumar recalled.
He said, when a meeting of the committee was called, they decided that they would first proceed with discussions on the Election Commission Bill and then the Fiscal Transfer Bill. So, during the meeting, last Wednesday, they had a thorough discussion on the Election Commission Bill.
Kumar disclosed that the minutes of that meeting were poorly done and it was pointed out to the Opposition members and it was decided that the minutes would be redone.
FAST TRACK
In an effort to fast track the issue, the government side proposed that they discuss the Fiscal Transfer Bill so as not to waste time, but the Opposition decided not to proceed with that discussion.
“They have no interest in seeing this committee work to fruition, because if we are very busy people and we are being paid by taxpayers and we have to go there for meeting, we wasted time for two hours. We didn’t do anything tangible, only to and fro, to and fro arguing,” Kumar charged.
He said he is in agreement with Argentina, Brazil and Chile which came out and called very forcefully for local government elections.
Kumar said he believes that, after almost 20 years, the people and the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) should be empowered.
He emphasised that the Guyanese people should be made aware that the Opposition is frustrating the efforts of the Government to discuss the local government bills and, subsequently, hold local government elections.
