President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC REFORM leader, Desmond Hoyte on Tuesday received an update on the work done so far by the joint committees they established in May. They issued no statement after the meeting.

The meeting was held at the Office of the President andpresent were the co-chairmen of the joint committees on bauxite resuscitation, local government reform, border and national security issues, radio monopoly and non-partisan boards, land and house lot distribution and the depressed communities.

Of the committees the only one which has completed its work is the one on border and national security issues and its report is yet to be considered by the two leaders.

The broadcast committee has completed all but a few issues to be considered in the execution of its mandate to recommend broadcast legislation and proffer recommendations on the radio monopoly and the composition of non-partisan boards in the state media. Its recommendations on the way forward with regard to the regulations promulgated earlier this year have been accepted by President Jagdeo and Hoyte and the government lawyers now have to incorporate them into the regulations.

The bauxite committee, which met its mandate of providing recommendations on the Alcoa concept paper is now tasked with coming up with recommendations as to the way forward in the light of the imminent withdrawal of Alcoa from the bauxite operations at Aroaima.

However, the committee is still to complete its consultations with the community at Linden having spoken to the Linmine management and the unions.

Stabroek News has been unable to clarify whether the alleged conflict of interest, arising from the presence on the bauxite negotiating team of a director of Aroaima in which Alcoa is a partner with the Guyana government, was raised or resolved.

The business plan of the Bermine Group is to remain sealed until the team could provide assurances that the information would remain in the confidence of the negotiating team.

Stabroek News understands that the committee on depressed communities had encountered resource and logistical difficulties in trying to execute its mandate. President Jagdeo, it understands too, is to address these issues.

The work of the committee on local government reform is proceeding apace and support is to be provided by the National Democratic Institute, sources say.

Another issue which is to be cleared up is the question of the importance of the committees. There is a contrast in the publicly stated views and actions of the government on the committees and that of Hoyte. Both President Jagdeo and Prime Minister Hinds seem to hold the view that but for the joint committee on bauxite resuscitation, government could have moved ahead on the Alcoa concept paper on Aroaima and that it had now lost the window of opportunity for consolidating the industry at a lower level of production.

Sources say Hoyte and the PNC/R on the other hand believe that the committees present the opportunity for forging bipartisan policies which could generate national support. They feel that the bauxite committee was one such opportunity, which had the support of the workers, management and communities in the industry and could generate national consensus.