PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar is dismissing any suggestion that a lack of desire on the part of the government has been responsible for the long delay in the hosting of local government elections which the international community recently said in a joint statement should move ahead with haste this year.

President Ramotar told members of the media, yesterday, that he is unclear what motivated the call, and while reserving his personal views on the matter, he made reference to the series of fervent past efforts at the political and legislative levels to facilitate the hosting of local government elections.
An election of this nature was last held in Guyana in 1994 and following calls for reform of the local government structure, a taskforce comprising members of the Government and Opposition was established, to examine the changes needed and make recommendations for the necessary reforms.
Since it was last held, another election was slated for 1997. However, the process was hindered by the absence of an Elections Commission. The Commission, when established, came in time for the country’s 2001 general elections.
President Ramotar recalled that, in the interim, the Constitution Reform Commission comprising a broad-based group of stakeholders, recommended “a different basis” for the hosting of local government elections.
A Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform (JTFLGR) was established in 2001 and was expected to submit its recommendations in the form of legislative amendments to the National Assembly for approval.
Recently,  the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill 2013 was tabled in the National Assembly outlining a deadline before December 1, 2013 for the hosting of the next Local Government Elections.
The bill also gives the subject Minister the power to authorise the holding of the elections “on request of a Local Democratic Organ or on his instructions.
The passage of four bills; the Fiscal Transfers Bill, the Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill, the Local Government (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government Commission Bill are pending.
“I cannot hold local government elections until those bills are passed,” President Ramotar told reporters yesterday.