The co-chairmen of the joint task force on local government reform are at odds as to how its work should go forward.

Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Clinton Collymore, one of the two co-chairmen, is insisting that the committee has “wound down its activities” and there is no need for an extension of its mandate. He told Stabroek News that as he sees it the committee’s work does not end with the submission of a report but will have to be kept alive, as there would be need for a public awareness programme to inform people about the reforms being introduced. He said that was the understanding of its terms of reference when it was set up during the Jagdeo/Hoyte dialogue process and that its work had been hindered for more than a year because of the suspension of the dialogue.

Collymore points out that there is a preliminary report on the work the committee has so far completed and at a later date he is prepared to submit a memorandum on its recommendations on the outstanding issues. He says in this way the delay in finalising the recommendations on the electoral system would not hinder further work on the other issues that have been resolved.

Collymore’s view is at odds with the position of his counterpart, PNCR chairman Vincent Alexander, the other co-chairman. Alexander wants the committee to continue meeting to complete its work, but says that it should not take longer than another month to do so. He asserts that there is no final report of the work completed so far, explaining that there is no agreement on the preliminary report that had been circulated for comment at the committee’s last meeting.

Also he says that the committee has been waiting for more than a year on the PPP to table its proposals for the electoral system, about which there is broad agreement on the system to be used at the levels other than the municipalities.

Alexander points out that while the May 6 communiqué says “the Committee would be re-established and mandated to complete its tasks within a a period of three months”, the committee did not have its first meeting until June 3, even though the deadline given was three months from the date of the communiqué.

The May 6 communiqué, besides the electoral system, lists the terms of reference of the local government commission and the system and procedures for making compulsory annual fiscal transfers to local government bodies as matters for resolution.

Collymore explained that the PPP/C was still looking at the PNCR’s proposal for the electoral system to be used at future local government elections. Also he said that there is agreement on the terms of reference of the local government commission and on the formula for making the allocations for the local government bodies, but that Alexander is to provide proposals as to how the formula is to be implemented.

Collymore explained too that because the committee wound down its activities no statutory meetings are being held but he was in touch with its members including Alexander, and meetings could be convened to deal with issues as they arise.

With regard to converting the recommendations into legislation, Collymore said that the committee had identified Professor Keith Massiah to do this but the National Democratic Institute, which is funding the drafting exercise, wants a tender process to be the vehicle for identifying the person to do the work.

He said too that Alexander has completed the scope of work for the drafters and the timeframe for completing the drafting. The communiqué has set a six-month deadline, beginning from the submission of the committee’s report, for the agreed reforms to be prepared for presentation to the National Assembly.

According to the Follow-up Agreement to the May 6 communiqué, the committees should have been reporting on the work being done to the representatives of President Jagdeo and Corbin.

The Follow-up Agreement also calls for the representatives of President Jagdeo and Corbin to brief the international donor committee and civic society including the other parliamentary parties on the way the agreements are being implemented. But Stabroek News understands that there is yet to be a meeting of minds between the parties involved as to what form monitoring of the implementation process should take.