Some three weeks ago there appeared in the correspondence columns of SN, a recommendation by a distinguished former public servant that local government reform should be based on the village as the unit. It is a proposal that captures imagination as the formation of the villages reaches back to the roots of an important turning point in our history. It is the inspiriting story of how some of the freed slaves either individually bought lands and together founded so called proprietary villages, while others pooled their small savings and as a group bought former plantations and founded communal villages.

Eventually there were more than a hundred such villages with various levels of village government - the village district most of whose council members were elected, the country district's council whose members were appointed, and the rural district which had no council at all but was directly administered by the District Administrative Officer. Despite their very limited responsibilities and minuscule revenues this system of village management had significant impact on national affairs. The annual conference of village fathers (the chairmen of each village authority) attracted the central government's attention and some village fathers became national leaders.

It was a little known village father, H L Palmer, who at the l947 election ran in the neck-and-neck race with Cheddi Jagan and businessman John D'Aguiar for the East Coast seat, which Jagan won with a narrow majority.

The system clearly needed reform and expansion, if only because half of the population who lived on the plantations were outside the system. The plantation administration as it had evolved provided a free range of welfare services together with a housing scheme, but were virtually private self-governing units outside the colonial administration.

That was the situation when in l955 the colonial administration invited Dr A H Marshall, a British expert, to advise on the rehabilitation of the local government system. His report confirmed by long experience was wise and practical and should be revisited, as should the scholarly book The approaches to Local Self-Government in British Guiana (Oxford, l958) by Allan Young, the Guyanese District Commissioner, alas too soon dead.

As the correspondent whose letter has been referred to noted, the Marshall recommendations were not implemented. It should not be unfair to say that in our deeply politicised society it would not be easy for any government to relinquish any measure of control over grass-roots affairs. Which brings us to the question, what is the case for local government (except for the cities) in this small country, especially where so many communities are characterised by ribbon development which makes it difficult to provide services. After all Barbados which also had a century old system of local government based on the parish abolished local government some years ago.

The case must surely be based on the conviction that local government promotes and facilitates some forms of social and economic development and deepens democratic processes. It is such considerations which should surely dictate the size of units and the structure of the local government system.

The Constitution Reform Commission which was established by Parliament in addition to constitutional change, made recommendations for local government reform. These recommendations are now being studied and revised by the heavyweight task force established as one outcome of the Jagdeo-Hoyte dialogue. It is also understood that their final proposals will eventually be open for public discussion. The following points are advanced towards such discussion. While dividing responsibilities for development projects between central and local government must always be a matter for careful consideration, grass-roots or popular participation through local government would always have certain clear advantages.

It will make certain that plans are more relevant to local needs and projects integrate sectors which are seen to be inter-related. It should also ensure that decision making and implementation are speedier. It may also be possible to mobilise local resources, including community self-help, in addition to those coming from central government. Moreover, supervision of projects will be under the watchful eyes of persons who live in the area and have life-long experience of actual conditions.

The much smaller context in which politics is pursued should likewise make for easier consensus. It should also be easier to establish situations for citizen consultation and participation in the resolution of local issues. There might also be every advantage of elections which could be held through a constituency

system enabling local government voters to choose among candidates they know rather than just voting for the party's choice.

Devising an appropriate local government system is a complex matter; so political urgency should be tempered by experience and practicality. It may be that the system should be introduced in stages, with not all areas at the same stage. Consideration should thus be given to the integration of the existing Amerindian arrangements which involve councils and touchaus (captains). Sources of revenue must also be identified as no system will be worth the while if it's wholly dependent on central government grants.

In many parts of the developing world including countries in which there has been civil conflict local government is being introduced or revived as an instrument for mitigating conflict and for social and economic development. The National Democratic Institute which it has been reported is helping with the consultative process will no doubt ensure that the persons concerned have available to them the results of recent research and thought in this field.

In ancient times, at the very beginning of the study of politics, Aristotle laid it down that a city must not be too big for its people to be called together by the voice of a single herald - a formula which made for understanding and agreement as citizens would have seen and known each other.

Modern technology dictates that we know most leaders mainly from TV screens or from attendance at mass meetings. The correspondent to SN who contended that the village should be the unit of local government was pointing to a long tradition of wise practice.