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A major concern was that of procurement and tender administration, and Croal explained it is important that councillors assist in overseeing the Regional Tender Board processes, and assist the Works Committee to monitor and evaluate the various contracts that would have been awarded.
He explained that the role of councillors is to encourage the community, the various committees attached to the RDC, and everyone else as a community to monitor projects within their regions, as they would have been presented with unpriced bills of quantities for the projects.
Croal noted that, in helping to monitor projects, councillors would ensure that works in their regions would be delivered with quality and in a timely manner.
He pointed out that if one is managing the RDC, councillors must know what is taking place, and he highlighted that the role of a regional executive officer (REO) is quite different from that of a councillor.
He also said that the LGRD Ministry is depending on the regions, the councillors and the REOs to make proper decisions and not those that are “out of order.” He said bad decisions need to be stamped out, in order to ensure work being done is in keeping with the legal framework of the RDC organs.
He advised that councillors be aware of the legislation which governs the Local Government Organs; for example, Act 12 of 1980, as well as Chapter 28:01 of the municipal laws, as those are the “bible” from which they operate.
Croal said that among the complaints reaching the level of the ministry are that of the Regional Administration not keeping abreast with information, and that councillors have been getting too involved in the work of the administration.
He encouraged councillors to be aware of their duties and allow the administrations to carry on with whatever they have to do, and he said that an aim of the workshop is to help councillors understand and separate their duties from that of the REO.
Croal said that REOs and councillors should each have a clear understanding of the perimeters in which they operate.
Touching on the legal framework in which the RDC operates, he iterated that it is important to understand the functions and differentiate between RDC councillors and administrators, and the role of clerks or REOs of the RDCs.
The workshop also dealt with the committees of councils, and how to deal with issues regarding circumstances and persons in the communities. It also dealt with sub-committees and their members, as well as conducting meetings.
Croal posited that for there to be an effective RDC, the committees attached to the administrative organ should remember their duties and assist the council to make informed decisions at the regional level.
Croal noted that the regions he dealt with were Regions 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam), 3 (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), and 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni). He explained that the regions were dealt with separately, so as to ensure maximum participation from everyone who attended; because had all the regions been together, it would have reduced the level of participation and interaction.
A similar training session was held yesterday at the Guyana International Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, which saw Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Norman Whittaker, addressing that session.
Another training session was held in the boardroom of the LGRD Ministry at Fort Street, Kingston, and that was addressed by the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Ganga Persaud.
