THE Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development hosted the first Town Clerks workshop under the theme ‘Promoting Effective Municipal Governance.’

It was held in the Ministry’s, Kingston, Georgetown boardroom and attended by Town Clerks from the six townships in Guyana, Rose Hall, Corriverton, Georgetown, Anna Regina, Linden and New Amsterdam.
Delivering the feature address at the forum, Minister within the Local Government Ministry, Mr. Norman Whittaker, said the Government, the ministry and residents are not pleased with the quality of work being delivered by the municipalities.
He said that the municipalities are paid to serve the people and urged that this should be done to the best of their abilities.
The minister said, if that is accepted, then he would focus the discourse on the encumbrances and challenges and how persons lead for the others to follow and, most

importantly, share ideas and experiences for betterment.
He asserted that municipalities are an important tier of the local government system and, being the Town Clerk and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a council, the personnel need to realise their authority and step up to their responsibilities.
Cannot shelter
Whittaker emphasised that Town Clerks cannot shelter under the excuse that it was a council decision, as their role goes beyond.
He posited that it is the Town Clerk’s job to guide the council, to point out when wrong decisions are made and laws are broken or procedures are not adhered to.
Town Clerks are tasked to point these things out to the council and it is important to provide services the people need as they are entitled to by paying rates and taxes, Whittaker said.
He insisted that “without the people, there is no need for us,” reiterating that it is the Town Clerk’s role to make sure that people are organised and involved in projects and programmes in their respective areas.
The minister said, however, that many municipalities face issues where the council is indifferent and misunderstand their role as some council members are of the impression that theirs is only to merely attend statutory meetings.
Whittaker said most municipalities are in the process of preparing their 2014 subvention budgets with the guidance of political representatives, but people’s needs and expenses are not necessarily their expectations.
He emphasised the importance of garnering and optimising resources, admitting that most municipalities only collect about 40 percent of what should be collected and proper debt-collection methods and public awareness on this matter should be strengthened.
Whittaker maintained that public awareness is vital to make persons understand and appreciate the value of rates and the importance of debt collection.
He said persons do not recognise the works that are done by the Local Government Ministry as there is no effective programme to reach out to them.
In terms of raking in more revenue, residents and municipalities have an important say in what their money is utilised for and expect that their rates and resources are channelled into productiveness.
Whittaker observed that some municipalities are extremely overstaffed and the standard of work done is unbelievably poor.
He suggested that residents ought to be encouraged and motivated and that way, they will want to pay for services as people do not pay their taxes because when they do not see proper services.
Also participating in the workshop were the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ms. Abena Moore; the Principal Municipal Services Officer, Mr. Nandranie Harricharran and Municipal Services Officer Mr. Fabian Jerrick.