New era in local govt

TUESDAY'S amicable resolution of the 3-3 tie in the Rio Claro/Mayaro Regional Council hopefully sets the tone for inter-party relationships and co-operation at the Local Government level. The drawing of lots for the appointment of two aldermen, which broke the tie, went off quite smoothly, without the kind of rancour which marked the breaking of the 4-4 tie at the Siparia Regional Council in 1999. The process at Rio Claro was open, fair and transparent and met with the satisfaction of all concerned. Names of the four nominations for aldermen, two from the councillors of each party, were placed in a bowl and two members of the public gallery were invited to draw the successful appointees. As luck would have it, both UNC nominees, Grace Ramsajan and Ramlochan Panchoo, were chosen which resulted in the UNC taking control of the eight-member Executive Committee by a majority of five to three.

After the proceedings, Ortoire-Mayaro MP Franklyn Khan observed that the draw was both free and fair. Local Government Minister Jarrette Narine also expressed his satisfaction at the "democracy, fairness and transparency" of the exercise. "I think that everything worked out well this morning," he said, adding that the law governing an electoral tie had been allowed to take place “fair and free” from interference by any political people. The Minister then expressed the hope that the victorious UNC aldermen together with the party's councillors would be fair and equitable in their treatment of areas not under their immediate control. Our sincere hope is that the recent Local Government Elections would result in fostering a new sense of purpose and a new spirit of co-operation among the councillors and aldermen of these regional bodies. We hope that partisan politics will play little or no role in the affairs of these councils and that their consuming concern would be the improvement of conditions of the various districts under their jurisdiction.

Local government bodies are not engaged in national affairs, and therefore the compulsion to "play politics" is not as compelling. This is why we expect maximum co-operation from them in attending to their responsibilities which are still important in enhancing the lives of those citizens they serve. Their task in maintaining proper local roads, drainage of minor waterways, garbage collection and disposal, bridges, street lights, markets, cemeteries, recreation grounds and the control of pests and rodents is an essential if not glamorous one. In the interest of serving residents in these different areas, we see no need for any serious conflicts or acts of discrimination. If the state of politics at the national level is an unfortunate one, marked by unnecessary and unjustified confrontation and obstruction, it would be entirely foolish for councillors to import this kind of senseless and obstructionist wrangling into the deliberations and operations of the regional councils and corporations. On the other hand, we expect that the central government will also be fair, equitable and adequate in the disbursement of funds to the regional bodies for both recurrent and developmental works, regardless of the party which control them. About a week ago, we disclosed a ridiculous situation which existed under the UNC Government with PNM-controlled corporations receiving nothing from the Road Improvement Fund while UNC-held bodies were given huge amounts. Under the PNM we do not expect such gross inequities to arise. And that, hopefully, a new and progressive era in local government is beginning.