Fifty-five per cent of people feel that taxpayers' money is wasted at the local government level, Local Government Hazel Manning said yesterday.
She was speaking in the House of Representatives on the Elections and Boundaries Order. Noting that there was widespread dissatisfaction, Manning said: "We have done a poll and it is agreeing with all that is being said on that (Opposition) side."
"Over 33 per cent of burgesses are dissatisfied with the conditions of roads; 27 per cent are unhappy with the poor drainage and flooding conditions; 49 per cent spoke about the unpleasant environment; 26 per cent felt there was poor management in local government and 46 per cent of those interviewed did not know their councillors, she said.
"Our people on the ground are saying to us that local government provides a poor service."
She said local government speaks to the issues and irritants at the grassroot level that citizens and burgesses complain about on a daily basis. She said Government was considering having facilities in the local government regions for the distribution of birth certificates and drivers licences. It was also considering enshrining local government in the Constitution.
Noting that Princes Town MP Subhas Panday had spoken earlier about discrimination and the need for equity, Manning said one of the reasons why Government was involved in reforming the local government system was because it also understood that there were inequities in the system.
"So we are in agreement with what he is saying," she said.
She said it was no use tinkering with the local government system. The fundamental reform being proposed by this Government would "deepen and widen the process in a way that would minimise inequities", Manning promised.
She noted, however, that under the PNM Government, the disbursement of funds has been done on a far more equitable basis.
But in responding to the litany of complaints from Opposition MPs, Manning agreed with much of what was being said. Saying that Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj "hit the nail on the head", Manning stated: "We still have problems ensuring that primary and secondary roads are fixed, that garbage collection takes place, that drains are well fixed, that markets are built and repaired. Those challenges have existed for a long time and would continue to exist unless we change the way we do business."
Apart from lamenting the poor state of the roads, drainage, water and other facilities in his constituency, Maharaj slammed Government for postponing elections.
