Know your local government

DPI, Guyana, Friday, August 3, 2018

There are three spheres of government in Guyana: Central, Regional and Local. For the purpose of local government, provisions are enshrined in the country’s constitution.

According to Article 71 of Guyana’s Constitution, “Local Government is a vital aspect of democracy and shall be organised so as to involve as many people as possible in the task of managing and developing the communities in which they live.”

For this purpose, Parliament has been mandated to provide a country-wide system of Local Government through the establishment of local democratic power organs which play an integral part in the state’s political organisation.

Guyana is divided into ten administrative regions and these form the regional level of government. At the local government level, there are three divisions of authority – the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), Municipal Councils, and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).

It is the primary duty of local democratic organs to ensure the efficient management and development of their areas and to provide leadership by example.

They are also mandated to preserve and protect public property, improve working and living conditions, promote the social and cultural life of residents, raise the level of civic consciousness, preserve law and order, consolidate the rule of law and safeguard the rights of citizens.

The local democratic organs are autonomous. They make decisions which are binding upon their agencies and institutions.

For these organs to have functioning members, there needs to be local government elections held in all Municipalities and Neighborhood Democratic Councils (NDC) using a mixed Electoral System of Proportional Representation and First-Past-the-Post.

This provides opportunities for voluntary groups, political parties and individual candidates to contest for seats in the Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.

Fifty percent of the councillors of each Municipality and Neighbourhood Democratic Council will be elected through the Proportional Representation component and the other fifty percent through the First-Past-the-Post or constituency component of the Electoral System.

Following a declaration made by Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, Local Government Elections (LGE) will be held on November 12, 2018. $2.9Billion have been allocated to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for preparations.

Stephon Gabriel

Image: Department of Public Information