…Bulkan says repairing local govt system will take longer than expected
…but vows renewal and functionality

“The Herculean task of restoring the damaged Local Government System after years of neglect will take longer to achieve than expected,” Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan said while alluding to many of the challenges facing local organs in their quest to become self-sufficient and independent.
“There has been progress but I will be the first to admit that there is much more work to be done that can be done, but I think we should not overlook the fact that this repair job, this restoration job, to bring about renewal and functionality within these organs, will take considerably longer than the two years or one year since those elections,” Minister Bulkan told Guyana Chronicle during an exclusive interview.
He said at the time when Local Government Elections were held in March, 2016, Local Government Organs, particularly, Town Councils and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) had largely become dysfunctional due to years of suppression on the part of the former Government – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
“They were literally ignored, their capacity and functionality were so damaged and degraded that they had actually largely become dysfunctional,” Minister Bulkan lamented. For the first time in 22 years, Local Government Elections were held on March 18, 2016. Prior to that, the elections were last held in 1994.
But the Communities Minister said long before the March 18, 2016 elections, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition had been laying the foundation for the restoration of Local Government System in the country while in Opposition.
“It was the APNU in the 10th Parliament that had begun, in a significant way a national conversation as to the need, the necessity and relevance of Local Government,” he posited.
The APNU, he recalled, would have moved from passing the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, the Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill, the Local Government Commission Bill and the Fiscal Transfer Bill in June, 2014 with the backing of the Alliance for Change (AFC) to giving the then President Donald Ramotar an ultimatum for the holding of Local Government Elections.
In his September, 2014 ultimatum to the then President, President David Granger, while in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition, had emphasised that Local Government Elections are a Constitutional obligation and a democratic entitlement of the Guyanese people. The ultimatum approximately one month after the AFC had submitted to the National Assembly a No-Confidence Motion against the PPP government.
“Even though President Granger was aware that he had a better than even chance of becoming sooner rather than later, the President of Guyana…to him the restoration of the system of Local Government was more important,” Minister Bulkan posited. He emphasized that the holding of the elections was in keeping with the APNU+AFC’s Manifesto and a fulfilment of its promise.

Re-awakening
Since those elections in 2016, Minister Bulkan said there has been a “reawakening” of the Local Democratic Organs which has led to a “revitalization” of the roles of Councils in transforming their towns and villages. This is not only true for the common towns, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, Corriverton and Anna Regina, but the newest towns in the country – Bartica, Mabaruma and Lethem.
“In all of the municipalities there are various initiatives that are being undertaken in various areas such as Solid Waste Management, Environmental Leadership, provision of services, and a general attitude to bring about physical transformation via local leadership,” the Communities Minister posited. Similarly, he said a number of NDCs has been partnering with Government and Non-Governmental Organisations and members of the Private Sector to improve their communities.
It was noted that the Ministry of Communities in collaboration with the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED) has been promoting sustainable communities through strong local governance. Under this project, the nine municipalities have participated in extensive training aimed at building their capacities to manage their towns effectively while providing much needed services.
Additionally, under the CARILED Project five municipal development plans were crafted and approved for the municipalities of New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, Linden, Anna Regina and Corriverton. Significant work was also executed in the development of local areas economic profiles along with economic development and strategic planning in NDCs including those in Regions Two, Three, Four and Six.
Training for these Local Democratic Organs will intensify with the launching of a handbook (manual) that will explain in detail their roles and responsibilities. “It has taken us quite a while but there were a number of grey areas in this transitional period…from a centralized approach of governance to where we are allowing Local Government Organs to exercise their legal and constitutional authority,” he explained.

Operational level
Minister Bulkan added that “at the operational level it took careful thought, to extract the relevant sections of the legislation, the two Acts, Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01 and Local Government Act Chapter 28:02… to create a manual a guide handbook so we have to give to each of the 1170 councilors as well as all of the administrative staff in our local government organs.” Before the end of 2017, Mahdia, the administrative centre of the Potaro-Siparuni Region, is expected to be declared a town, in addition to three other capital towns.
Zooming in on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, Minister Bulkan recalled that Central Government in 2015 had injected a “considerable” amount of funds into the City Council for the execution of Restoration Georgetown. He said while the project had yielded tremendous success, the cash flows problem, facing City Hall, like many other municipalities, had hindered its ability to maintain the project.
It was explained that the primary source of finance for Local Government Organs are rates and taxes, however, the rates are extremely low. Additionally, many Guyanese are guilty of not paying their rates and taxes despite the fact that they are extremely low. Councils’ inability to rake in sufficient funds cripple their ability to execute their functions particularly in the area of waste disposal management.

Parking meters
Currently, the Finance Ministry is in the process of revitalising and restoring the capacity of the Valuation Division. Once fully operation, Minister Bulkan said Local Government Organs can expect an enhanced provision of service which could possibly lead to increase funds.
The Communities Minister said it was City Hall’s intention to increase its revenue base while simultaneously bringing greater order to the streets of Georgetown had led to the initiation of the Parking Meter Project. He said while the council’s intention is good, there was clearly need for more consultation.
“Unfortunately, I believe that there was not sufficient internal by in at the level of the council before the contract was enter into…I think as a result of that defect it led to certain features of that project attracting significant public resistance,” he posited.
Persons, he pointed out, were concerned about the high rate attached to parking along with the harsh penalties. Central Government at the level of the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General Chambers had reviewed the contract between City Hall and Smart City Solutions, and had offered their opinions and advice to the Council. It was found that a number of the clauses within the original contract were of no benefit to the council.
“The advised was regrettably not taken on board,” the Communities Minister posited noting that it led to the withdrawal of Central Government’s support. Consultations are currently ongoing with the hope of having the contract modified to the satisfaction of Council, the Contractor and most importantly the citizenry, he said.
Turning his attention to the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), Minister Bulkan said while the Government has been offering financial and institutional support, the opposition dominated councils have been putting up a resistance to many of its programmes and initiatives. Seven of the 10 RDCs are dominated by the Opposition.
“Unfortunately, despite the agenda and the programme of central government to move in the direction of greater regional empowerment, regrettably, there has been considerable resistance on the part of those RDCs that are controlled by the opposition,” Minister Bulkan noted.
The Ministry has proposed the renaming of the 10 Administrative Regions and the initiation of regional flags but some RDCs are still to buy into these initiatives. A plus, however, for the Ministry was its ability to correct the many problems that had plagued the Haags Bosch landfill facility. In 2016, the Ministry had signed $22.4M contract with Puran Brothers Disposal Inc to manage the Landfill site. Since then, the facility has been operating at an optimal. The company has displayed a compliance rate of 95 percent in accordance with clauses in the contract, as they relate to the equipment required.
Notwithstanding the challenges, Minister Bulkan said his ministry will forge ahead with plans to build cohesive, empowered and sustainable communities. “I may say resolutely, even though the evidence may be taking a while before it becomes evident – this physical improvement – the direction and the trajectory is unbroken, and we are not deviating, we are not deterred and we are certainly not distracted. The progress is measureable but I think there is an appreciation and an understanding that given where we have started, it’s going to take time to restore this level of functionality that we can all be proud of,” Minister Bulkan said.