Two contentious issues – the vast discretionary powers of the Minister of Local Government and Regional Executive Officers’ accountability to the ministry rather than the district they serve – will be among those that to be addressed when deliberations on long-awaited local government reform legislation begins when the National Assembly reconvenes in October.
Chairman of APNU, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine expressed optimism that the discussions could be completed “within eight weeks” of the House reconvening, since he said that a lot of work done by a Select Committee in the Ninth Parliament was incorporated into the Bills. In the past two weeks, four Bills, the Local Government Commission Bill 2012, the Local Government (Amendment Bill) 2012, the Fiscal Transfers Bill 2012 and the Municipa
