Williams promises to speed up local government reforms

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Basil Williams was voted in as chairman of the parliamentary special select committee to review legislation pivotal to the holding of local government elections.
Acting Cabinet Secretary Gail Teixeira confirmed Williams’ appointment on Friday at the Office of the President.
Teixeira noted that it was a necessary step in furthering local government elections.
She continued that the special select committee was decided upon after Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud put forth the multiple local government bills concerning reform.
Williams told Guyana Times International that “the government has long had custody of this matter and nothing has come of it…” He noted that the new goal of the committee had to be having local government reform that any Guyanese can embrace. He added that the perception that reform meant job loss also needed to be addressed.
The attorney said for over a decade local government reform has been talked about. “Look, we had the joint task force; we’ve had multiple legislations [and] the local government commission,”, but all the issues have not been resolved. Williams stated that in the New Year, he will meet with committee members and they will discuss their course of action.
Timely manner
“I don’t have a timeline, but we are going to work on reforms in a timely manner,” Williams told this publication.
APNU is fully prepared to accept reforms and is prepared to implement them. “We want regulations,” Williams stated.
He added that Minister Ganga may have inherited some of the inconsistencies from former Minister Kellawan Lall. “Ganga is very experienced on this matter,” Williams said.
He noted that the minister was very capable, and them working alongside each other in a bipartisan manner would get issues resolved more quickly.
Williams told Guyana Times International that in terms of the four local government bills that are outstanding, he did not want to go into discussions with the committee with preconceived ideas.
“I don’t want a predisposition going into talking. I want to go into the committee without having any judgements,” Williams said, noting that while the ongoing process has culminated in a series of failures, they cannot be discouraged.
Parliament decided on Thursday to elect a chairman of the special select committee and two names were put forward. It is protocol that the minister who proposes the bills becomes chairman if a special select committee is decided upon.
However, APNU’s five votes to the government’s four in favour of Williams changed that.