THREE senior representatives of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development attended a one week financial training programme, sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat, at the University of Birmingham in England.

It was conducted by the International Development Department within the University and saw the attendance of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Collin Croal; Municipal Services Officer, Mr. Fabian Jerrick and Senior Regional Development Officer, Mr. Puran Persaud.
Croal told a Thursday press briefing, in the Ministry’s Kingston, Georgetown boardroom, that 26 participants from 10 countries, including Sierra Leone, Syria and the Caribbean participated in the course.
He said, given the fact that it was conducted in the UK, the participants were introduced to that country’s local government system and its relevance, in terms of where Commonwealth countries are, noting that the focus was on financial aspects, mainly in the area of decentralisation.
Areas covered
Some of the areas covered were fiscal transfers, revenue sources for local government and public/private partnerships, Croal indicated.
He said, with regards to fiscal transfers, those are not new to Guyana since the Fiscal Transfer Bill is before the Special Select Committee of the National Assembly. It has been found that, in many countries, there are varying methods of transferring money.
Croal explained that, in the new proposal for the Fiscal Transfer Bill, the ministry will be dealing with population, geographic size and the economic benefits within that area for which a formula will be applied. So, instead of having a fixed amount, it will be varying, depending on what is being proposed when applying the formula.
He said, in relation to revenue sources for local government, this looks at issues of property taxation, which happens to be a burning issue at the local government level, due to the fact that there are a number of properties that need to be revalued.
There are also issues of residential properties that are being turned into commercial and this is one way how revenue is being lost, Croal observed.
He remarked that the UK programme was a success and one from which the Guyanese delegation was able to gain new ideas and initiatives.