PNP promises accountability overhaul in municipal corporations

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is promising to overhaul how accountability is exercised within municipal corporations, outlining that it will, among other things, require them to show how taxpayers’ money is being spent.

The PNP also said that it would mandate quarterly press briefings by all mayors and CEOs of municipal corporations to update citizens on council activities and publicise representation for the maintenance and repair of roads, drains, verges, garbage collection, and public-cleansing activities.

The pledges were among several listed in the party’s 16-page manifesto released yesterday, three days before the local government elections.

Under the theme ‘Time come for C.H.A.N.G.E’, the party said that it would focus on community development and citizen security; healthy citizens and healthy communities; access and accountability; a new vision for local government; garbage-collection disposal and environmental protection; and economic models for success and entertainment regulations at the local level.

The PNP said a government it forms will require that municipal corporations become more transparent, publishing their annual budgets in print, electronic, and social media.

Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis, in her department’s recently tabled 2022-2023 annual report, issued 22 “disclaimer opinions” to several municipal corporations for their failure to properly account for billions of dollars spent or in their possession.

STATEMENTS NOT PROVIDED

This means that an opinion could not be formed on the financial statements submitted because the necessary information and evidence to do so have not been provided.

The PNP has suggested that this would be rectified and added that it would also develop and publish performance-measurement indicators for the councils and mandate the cooperation and timely responsiveness of key associated partners in the delivery of local services.

The party also said that it would implement a transparent process for allocating streetlights, with deeper expansion into solar lighting.

Further, the PNP said it would consolidate all scheme roads under municipal corporations, thereby placing local authorities in charge of the maintenance of roads in local communities.

It is promising to modernise minor water-supply structures by partnering with communities to build water-harvesting systems.

Additionally, the party said there would be stricter enforcement of the Building Act to ensure that old and new buildings are accessible for persons with disabilities.

“When the PNP forms government, we will ensure that the Jamaican people have access to beaches and rivers for recreational purposes, amending the Beach Control Act to provide rights of access,” the PNP said in its manifesto.

However, civil society body Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has taken issue with the timing of the manifesto release, noting that local government is well positioned to implement policies and programmes to address social, economic, and health inequities by ensuring that some of citizens’ most fundamental rights are addressed.

LATE MANIFESTO

“Therefore, to be getting a manifesto just mere days before the election is suggestive of a scant regard for the importance of the local government as another tier of governance,” JFJ’s Executive Director Mickel Jackson told The Gleaner on Thursday.

The human rights group had slammed the PNP and the Jamaica Labour Party, the country’s two main political parties, for failing to produce manifestos even as they debated local government issues last week.

Jackson said unless and until local authorities fulfil the expectations of them and increase avenues for citizen participation, the country will not see a greater level of interest, which is important for holding governments accountable.

She said that the suggestion that a manifesto is not important for local government is misguided.

“A manifesto ought to be treated as a commitment of proposed policies. Therefore, citizens can use these as an accountable tool on how well a government and its representatives have performed.

“Reasonable questions can then be asked: Having listed your achievements, what is the benchmark to measure success? How much of what you had promised have you met? Until we start demanding more of our representatives, there will not be an improvement in the quality of governance,” Jackson argued.

She urged Jamaicans to call for adherence to the provisions of the Local Governance Act, while insisting that citizens must demand that engagement meetings are held and that they are being consulted.

Jackson said civil society must also engage more with local authorities, and importantly, the local public accounts committee must be asked to fulfil what is currently legislated.

That is, to review the performance of local authorities in their ethical and service-delivery standards as well as adherence to procurement and financial management procedures.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com