Introduction:Stabroek News has invited the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (AFC) to submit a weekly column on local government and related matters. Only the AFC has submitted one this week.
By David Patterson
AFC’s General Secretary
The deferral of our Local Government Elections since 1994 can best be described as the “Annual Local Government Merry–Go–Round”. Hansard will reflect annually different variations of this debate for almost two decades, and it appears we are no nearer the end of this ride than when we first started.
The Alliance For Change demands Local Government Elections and regard the delays in the holding of these elections to be most undemocratic and executive lawlessness by the powers that be.
Local Government elections are to be held every three years. Yet only two such elections have ever been held since Independence. One was held in 1970 under the PNC; and, one in 1994 under the PPP. This year should have seen us having our fifteenth such elections. This non-deliverance speaks volumes about our so-called democratic system, and the Parties which have governed in that period. This undemocratic trend commenced under the governance of the PNC; and, in an effort not to be outdone, it is now being championed by PPP/C.
The exercise of postponing local government elections continues to leave the citizens of this fair land at the mercy of dysfunctional and in some cases non-functional bodies. This state of disarray obviously suits the Minister of Local Government since it affords him the opportunity
