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Linden’s Mayor Sharma Solomon is calling on the Government of Guyana to respect constitutional laws that mandate the Government of Guyana to engage with Local Government Authorities. He believes the government is bypassing the Linden Mayor and City Council (LM&TC), which, he noted, erodes the system of oversight on projects in the eight constituencies within the Linden Municipality.
Speaking with this publication, the Region 10 Mayor stated that the Municipality Act, within the confines of Chapter 28:01, establishes that it is the government’s obligation to engage with local municipalities. Explaining why he thinks that the government is not playing its part, the Mayor said there is inadequacy and insufficiency with the government’s guidance on local governance.
The Mayor cited that Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, had stated that he was “prepared to work in concert with elected officials and those who are representatives of the people.” Mayor Solomon insists that the government is usurping the functions of the municipality by going through the Community Development Councils (CDCs). This the Mayor believes, shows the government’s intention to retard growth and development within the municipality itself, which he notes hinders the effective and equitable provision of services to residents of the mining Town.
The Mayor said that when he got into the office of Linden Mayor and City Council after the recently held Local Government Election (LGE), he was confronted with a Council that is receiving eighteen million dollars, in government subvention, for the management of an entire town of some 55,000 citizens, of which some 35 000 is centrally located.
The Mayor said that the Community Development Councils (CDCs) collect 80 million dollars twice per year from the government’s budget for drainage and irrigation works. The Mayor also pointed out that there are some thirty (CDCs) in Linden, which are arms of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), and that many of the Chairmans of the (CDCs) ran as (PPP/C) candidates in the last Local Government Election (LGE).
The Mayor said that there’s a need for major legislative changes. “I would say to residents that we have to be able to stomp to ensure that Council is able to function in your interest.” Mayor Sharma Solomon also reminded residents of Linden that it was the President and Vice President who said, “Elections are over; we will work with the councils.” The Mayor questions, however, which councils the government is working with.
