13 December 2011
editorial
The Shadow Local Government Minister, Ms Betty Nambooze, has asked government to either conduct Local Council 1&2 elections in the next 45 days or face legal action.
The last time this country held elections for these crucial positions was in 2001. And like most elective positions, the formal terms for the office bearers expired in 2006. However, as the country went to the polls in 2006 to elect the President, MPs and district and sub-county chairs, again these lower local council positions were not filled.
We have just concluded another set of elections and still, the LC1 and LC2s stay put. In the wider decentralisation scheme, the LC1s and LC2s are very key in service delivery but also political supervision and mobilisation.
These lower local councils are crucial in activities like community policing, mobilisation for projects like bulungi bwansi (community hygiene), conflict resolution, Okaying applicants for passports and clearance for recruitment to the armed forces.
With such key duties, it is therefore important that the holders of these offices do so within the law. Like the opposition indicated, the ushering of a multi-party political dispensation in 2005 meant the constitution of the LCs had to fall within these parameters.
Other than only think of giving LCs bicycles during elections, it would be a great service if the line ministries demanded that legal and fully-functional local councils are elected. Some of the necessary legislation has been done. The Local Government Ministry and the Attorney General should therefore move to ensure elections are held to fill vacancies that have existed for the past five years.
The Electoral Commission has indicated readiness to conduct the elections although it insists it lacks the Shs15 billion needed to oversee this process. Considering how crucial these administrative units are–and the need to regularise their tenures, we believe it is important to avail the necessary resources to hold the elections.
Otherwise, the State might be hit with an avalanche of lawsuits contesting some of the actions taken by these LCs–and that could just be one of the many challenges arising from letting illegal office bearers conduct business.
AllAfrica – All the Time