2018 Local Government Handbook more reader friendly
DPI, Guyana, Friday, April 13, 2018
The Local Government Handbooks launched by the Ministry of Communities (MOC) in two volumes last year have been merged into one and will now contain cartoons by local cartoonist Paul Harris to make the contents more reader-friendly.
Making the disclosure on Saturday, April 7, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan said the merging of the two handbooks and their illustrations is part of a systematic effort to build capacity to ensure the effectiveness of councillors at local level of Government in the country.
The 2017 handbooks which will be replaced.
Minister Bulkan noted that legal documents can sometimes be intimidating to the ordinary reader and his Ministry had recognised that many councillors had not taken the time to read the handbooks and empower themselves in so doing.
The Ministry of Communities (MOC) had updated and revised the 2017 Handbooks merging them into one document with minor revisions and with one feature that would make the reading less intimidating and more user-friendly.
“This is our latest effort as we at the MOC continue to work with the persons in the Local Government system to bring about the necessary understanding for effectiveness at this level of Government,” Minister Bulkan said.
In July 2017 the MOC, with the assistance of the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED) and financial support from the Government of Canada, had crafted two handbooks for councillors of the Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDCs.)
The handbooks covered a range of topics including an overview of the local government system; the legislative authority functions and responsibilities of local government organs; the fiscal management of local government organs; the roles and functions of chairpersons, and the need for participation by communities among others.
The two books in effect contained the key sections in the two pieces of legislation that governs the Municipalities and NDCs – Chapter 28:02 the Local Government Act and Chap 28:01 the Municipal and District Councils Act. They were intended to serve as guides to Municipalities and NDCs on their roles and functions under the Local Government Act. These were distributed to each of the approximately 1,170 Councillors within the NDCs and Municipalities countrywide.
The newly illustrated Handbook is in the final stages of publication and will be released shortly.
By: Clifford Stanley