President’s unswerving commitment to restoring local democracy

Dear Editor
THERE is no end to the torrent of lies which continue to flow effortlessly from the person of Gail Teixeira, via her programme, Matters of Public Interest; and no end to the daily desperation of seeking to besmirch the person of President David Granger, in his efforts to build a culture of democracy in a country that is gradually emerging from the dark midnight of People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) rule of 23 years.

It is evident from the two discernible lies, scurrilous in every form, that fear and jealousy of the coalition government’s success in being able to mandate two consecutive rounds of Local Government Elections (LGEs); and the successful dissemination of the message that the process empowers citizens in deciding what is best for their communities, is evident.
And this is not difficult to follow, since it is the trend in the attacks on the government, for doing the constitutionally correct thing of restoring democracy at the grassroots level. Simply put, it directly threatens the PPP/C dictatorial local government politics of imposition, and hand-picked candidates.

Thus, for Teixeira to emit such a red herring that the President is ‘’using local government as a tool to gain more power to control the coalition government”, is as laughable, as it is both scandalous and idiotic, for its wild and baseless assumption.
In fact, President Granger is not about micro-managing and control. Instead, he is about working together with his coalition partners for the greater good, despite whatever challenges may arise.

And challenges, especially in any coalition there will be, given its nature of a grouping of parties and individuals, from varied backgrounds and ideologies.
It is the same message that the President has repeated for achieving success at the level of local government: central and local governments and the regional administrations working together. No need for the authoritarian, trade mark Jagdeo blueprint of Interim Management Committees (IMCs).

Not too long ago, the nation witnessed a manifestation of this unswerving message when the President addressed the inaugural National Conference of Local Democratic Organs (NCLDO), at which he reminded representatives of the regions, municipalities, and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) that “Local government organs must be autonomous to allow them to serve their residents’ best interests. They must not be dominated by, or become dependent on central government.” This was the PPP/C’s local governance culture which stifled the rights of citizens.

Of course, Teixeira was right when she stated that the ‘’NLCDO had been closed for a number of years’’; but this hiatus, and gradual death of a major organ of people’s democracy took place during her party’s tenure as government, thus denying the people the right of choice. It is the NCLDO that President Granger and his coalition government have restored, since the historic 2016 LGE and further advanced, with the November poll, which would have been held by the time this letter is published.

Regards
Dillon Goring

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