[www.inewsguyana.com] – The non – governmental organization – Blue CAPS – has come out in support of the Opposition Leader, David Granger’s demand that President Donald Ramotar announce a date for the holding of local government elections before Monday, September 15.
The Body says while it took the Opposition Leader a while to mount a toughened effort and apply pressure to the government to set a date for urgently needed local government elections “it’s better to be late than never.”
Yesterday, Granger dispatched a letter to the Head of State, calling on him to issue the ‘Commencement Order’ to operationalise the Local Government Commission and to initiate a process by which the Local Government (Amendment) Bill could be returned for his assent.
The Opposition Leader has threatened that failure by the President to announce a date for the holding of LGE will result in lawful action being taken.
“We shall be obliged to take any lawful action to mobilise national and international support in defence of local democracy, the Constitution and the rights of the Guyanese people,” the Opposition Leader warned.
Blue CAPS believes that despite the Alliance For Change’s motion to debate a no-confidence motion against the government in the National Assembly, the government through the Minister of Local government should established a date for LGE.
“In the event the no-confidence motion is carried, then General Elections would constitutionally take precedent over LGE,” the organization reasoned.
Blue CAPS says it notes the efforts of the Ministry of Local Government to expend $1billion on a national clean up initiative. However, it remains less than optimistic that this initiative will achieve much and be sustainable.
“It is time we move away from short-term fixes and focus on the structural issues afflicting our municipalities and Neighborhood Democratic Councils. LGE is a necessary fundamental step to hold elected persons accountable for ensuring sustainable garbage disposal and waste management solutions.”
Additionally, Blue CAPS pointed to the current stalemate at the Georgetown municipality which is believes also reinforces the need for LGE and the respect for the rule of law.
“The constitution is designed for the people to elect their leaders at the local level and for those leaders to represent their interest as a Councilor of the municipality. These Councilors are expected to make decisions in the best interest of their constituencies. However, in Georgetown we have an undemocratic development where an administrator of the municipality’s affairs makes unilateral decisions and disobeys decisions of the democratically elected Council. This situation represents a grave threat to our democracy.
Blue CAPS pointed out that it does not necessarily endorse the performance of the Georgetown City Council.
