The importance of an effective and efficient local government system to

democracy and the proper delivery of services to people cannot be over emphasised and therefore it is imperative governments ensure that local governance is a vibrant and continuously devolving one.
A continuous decentralising local government system is essential for the deepening and broadening of democracy thereby ensuring that power is put into the hands of the people and make ‘a government by the people for the people’ a reality.
Decentralisation is a strategy used by the government towards democratising the political system and accelerating the attainment of sustainable development for the reason that it will promote or allow fuller participation of the citizens in government affairs and will give the local governments and the communities a more active role in the economic, social and political development
Governments further assume that through decentralization, development would be more responsive to the needs of the people and would create opportunities in the regions, promote employment and economic activities as well as strengthen people’s participation in the affairs of the government. Of course different forms of decentralisation can be distinguished primarily in terms of the extent of authority transferred and the amount of autonomy.
Unfortunately, in our country, the local government system has remained largely in its pre-colonial state albeit some positive changes that have been made. There has not been any comprehensive overhaul of the system in keeping with modern methods of governance.
Political wrangling has also stalled the local government reform process which began several years ago but has not concluded as yet because agreement on the local government electoral system has not been reached between the government and the opposition. However, there have been some indications that the impasse would be resolved soon.
On this note, it was encouraging to see that the Fiscal Transfers Bill 2012 along with other bills pertaining to local government elections were unanimously passed in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The ultimate aim of the Fiscal Transfers Bill 2012 is to make the local authority as autonomous as possible including its ability to sustain itself financially. Under the present financial dispensation, the revenue sustaining the local authorities comes from rates and taxes that are collected.
This certainly will help the local government bodies to function in a more viable and reliable manner, executing projects in a more timely and efficient way as well as eliminating much of the bureaucratic ‘red tape’ that plagues the system.
Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud, alluding to this in the National Assembly, noted that government recognises this is a big step in fulfilling the requirement under Article 77A of the constitution which states that, “Parliament by law should provide for the formulation and implementation of objective criteria for the purpose of allocation of resources to, and the governing of resources by, local democratic organs.”
“This Bill will enhance the autonomy of local authorities across this country and to assist in their quest to be financially viable, and for them to be able to sustain their operations through various mechanisms,” Persaud said.
The Bill seeks to point to several additional revenue-generating areas including vehicle parking meters, economic ventures, and economic partnerships with central government and other organisations.
It is also noteworthy that the other bills passed would pave the way for the holding of local government elections which was last held in 1994 and therefore long overdue. This has resulted in most of the local government bodies becoming dormant. As a consequence, the delivery of services to the people in the respective neighbourhoods and municipalities has deteriorated to the lowest ebb resulting in great frustration and disenchantment.
So all Guyanese would hope, that the stage is set to have local government elections as soon as possible, which should lead to a rejuvenation of local governance and an improvement in the delivery of services to the people of this country.