It is hardly surprising that the recent NACTA poll conducted by Mr Vishnu Bisram should have been the subject of criticism from political quarters; after all, it said things that the politicians do not really want to hear. Those who have made mutual antagonism their central focus for half a century, are hardly going to be receptive to the notion that people are simply fed up - fed up with them, whatever their party affiliation, and fed up with politics in general.

The poll, too, showed that crime was the top concern among voters, followed by racialism and corruption, and that both parties were held responsible for the first two. NACTA reported that people felt that the parties were fighting each other for political power, while the quality of life was in steady decline, and neither was really concerned about addressing the problems of the nation.

Despite this disenchantment, as the experience of forty years has taught us, voters do not break ranks at national election time. Whether they will register their discontent at the local government level when those elections finally come around, remains to be seen. The poll suggested that at this stage - although it warned that things could change by election day - there was a lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming local government polls, and a significant number of respondents indicated that they were undecided or simply would not vote.

In addition to weariness with the two big parties, the cynicism about local government related partly to the recognition that the various councils have no power - the central government having usurped these - partly to a perception of corruption in the awarding of contracts, and partly where some PPP party activists were concerned, to the fact that they had not been the recipients of the ‘spoils of office.’

There are several messages here for all our politicians, but more particularly for those in office. All administrations lose their verve after they have been in government for an extended period, and some lose a sense of direction as well. In addition, electorates tend to get bored with any incumbent after a period of years, even one perceived to be rather more effective than the current government in Guyana.

In our case the disaffection has been compounded by the fact that the governing party has followed in the footsteps of its precedessor by attempting to control every facet of life in the country. This is an approach which has demonstrably failed, and which is counterproductive for the government itself. An administration which attempts to control everything in this day and age, will not only find itself controlling less and less, but will politicise every area of endeavour. Furthermore, it will also be blamed for everything that goes wrong, whether or not it is directly responsible.

The first relief we need from the suffocation of politics is in the department of local government, the final arrangements for which have not yet been agreed by the two major political players in this land of ours. Some of the frustration of everyday living here relates to our immediate surroundings, such as garbage and general maintenance - the kind of things which come within the ambit of local authorities. With less interference by the big political players, we could really enhance the quality of life at the micro-level.

Will the Government (and the Opposition) please listen to what the people, courtesy of NACTA, are saying to them. Give power back to the communities, and give their local representatives greater certainty about the allocations they are to receive from central government to enable them to function efficiently - and, it must be said, independently. In such circumstances the councils of whatever kind must be made clearly accountable for the resources at their disposal and the discharge of their functions; corruption at the local level is as intolerable as at the national level.

No one - especially not a central government - has a better idea of what a community requires than that community itself. We need less politics with a large ‘P’ in the local arena, and more community involvement and community solutions.