Still more work to be done before local govt bills clear House – Persaud

Local Government Special Select Committee Chairman Basil Williams said he is moving ahead with the work of the committee, despite there are a number of issues that are still to be addressed. Williams recently announced that three of the four local government bills have been completed, but Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud on Monday noted that this is not the case.
Speaking at a press conference, the local government minister said the Fiscal Transfers Bill, the Municipals and District Councils (Amendment) Bill, the Local Government (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government Commission Bill have all been scrutinised.
Consensus
According to him, these issues have been parked and are yet to be deliberated on before a consensus can be achieved.
He pointed to the Local Government Commission Bill where the members have not decided on the composition.
The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) members on the committee have been pushing for three persons to be appointed by the president, three by the president based on the advice of the opposition, and one to be appointed by the local government minister.
However, the joint opposition wants the one person to be appointed by the trade union movement.
“It is still parked, so I can’t see how you can approve a Local Government Commission Bill, unless the issue of composition is cleared up,” said the minister.
Turning his attention to the Local Authority Amendment Bill, Minister Persaud contended that the committee remains at gridlock on the appointment of duties to the minister and the commission.
“The office of the minister’s name is being proposed to be substituted by the commission, and we are saying now, by these amendments, the commission will dictate the subvention and the commission will operate on statutory rights,” he said.
He said while the formula for the Fiscal Transfer Bill remains a problem, it is likely that solution will arrive soon, with assistance being garnered.
While admitting that there were several issues parked because they were debatable, Williams said in keeping with a request made by the President Donald Ramotar, he decided to vote on the issues.
Last Thursday, he said the PPP/C lost at the hands of the majority opposition when a vote was taken to remove the power vested in the local government minister to the Local Government Commission under the Local Government Amendment Bill.
Similarly, the opposition accumulated the most votes when the committee members voted on the composition of the Local Government Commission, which now allows the president to appoint three members, another three to be appointed by the president based on the advice of the opposition leader, and one to be appointed by a trade union.
Williams is optimistic that the work of the Local Government Special Select Committee will be completed by next week, paving way for the four bills to be placed before the National Assembly.