UNC-A scoffs at TT local government reforms

Opposition Senator Dr Carson Charles on Tuesday scoffed at Government's plans for local government reform, saying it would take years to try to reform the system. Charles was speaking in the Senate on the bill to extend the life of local government corporations for another year.

"We will never get reform of local government of any use unless we have in office a reformist Government that believes in decentralization,” he told the upper chamber of Parliament.

He noted that the fundamental flaw in the attempt at reform is the fact that the local government bodies are not involved in the consultations on the issue. That is being done, he said, by a team from the local government ministry.

Minister of Finance Mariano Browne is heading that inter-ministerial team. The minister of local government insists that it was necessary to delay the election to "strengthen the country's democracy".

Hazel Manning expects the process to be completed within the next few months and has given the assurance that there won't be any more delays. (The amendment has already passed in the House of Representatives where the government has a strong majority. The government also has a majority in the Senate, which means that passage of the bill is assured.)

Charles told the Senate the manner in which the Manning administration is conducting the exercise demonstrates that the government believes that the role of local government is simply to carry out the will of the central Government.

He explained that local government comprises people who were elected in their own right to serve local people. The former cabinet minister noted that local government representatives are the ones who know most about what's happening on the ground.

Commenting on the Government’s Vision 2020 Plan, he said a developed country would only come about from within communities. “The community is where the strength of this nation is, and it is important to put them at the centre,” he said.

He said the fundamental problem is that in Trinidad and Tobago politicians are afraid of sharing power.

And he was not optimistic about the reform exercise being completed any time soon. “Trying to change this system of government won’t be done in three years,” he remarked.

Another opposition senator said the extension of the life of the local government bodies makes all councillors "prisoners". Mohammed Faizal-Rahman said the councillors signed on for a five-year term and would be penalized if they choose to resign.

Despite assurances from Manning, independent senator Prof Ramesh Deosaran asked what would prevent the Government from seeking a fourth, one-year extension next year.

The answer came from Health Minister and former chairman of the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation Jerry Narace who said he is confident there would be no further extensions.

"The local government election would be called by June 13, next year," he assured the Senate.