PORT OF SPAIN Mayor Joel Martinez is among those welcoming the extension of local government councillors' terms from three to four years to allow local government reform to kick in, but Penal/Debe Regional Corporation chairman Dr Allen Sammy opposed it.

Newsday interviewed several municipal council leaders last week after the change was announced by Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi.

While Al-Rawi said the Prime Minister reserves the right to call local elections, originally due early next year, Sammy said, "I was surprised it was postponed for a year.

"It's clear to me it was done because their backs are against the wall. They (the PNM) are extremely unpopular.

"They are trying to buy back time to win back currency with the population, by putting state resources into areas where they are now severely challenged."

Sammy said meanwhile people are suffering.

"When you postpone an election and you are still not sure what are the rules for that postponement, except it is postponed for a year, and councils’ life is extended, and you have nothing in place to help the people and there is no additional allocation...We've got additional responsibilities imposed on us over time that the public is not aware of.

"There's nothing that tells you what you can do and cannot do. So there are no guidelines, no schedules, no checklist, no nothing. We're operating totally in the dark."

Sammy: Poor communication

Sammy accused the ministry of poor communication with his council.

"We had a meeting a few minutes ago and we'd asked our corporate secretary, 'What are the implications?' They have not been conveyed to us by the ministry.

"So we are totally opposed."

[caption id="attachment_986680" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Penal / Debe Regional Corporation Chairman Dr Allen Sammy. -[/caption]

Asked about burgesses now unable to vote for possibly another year, he said, "People are being (ridden) over in a very roughshod manner. I don't feel there's any respect for people and communities."

He said his corporation has 33 communities, and they had expectations for their road repair, water supply and cleaning of public spaces such as markets, cemeteries and abattoirs.

Of the possible election delay, Sammy said, "What you are doing is perpetuating the same old model without offering any kind of hope to people."

On a proposal for councillors to shift from part-time to full-time roles, he felt the councils had been left out of the dialogue. This is even after all councillors and aldermen were invited by Al-Rawi to a meeting on August 9 at the Government Campus Plaza, Port of Spain, but UNC representatives were instructed by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to boycott the event. The meeting was to discuss the issue of local government reform and its rollout.

Al-Rawi had said, then, the boycott denied UNC local government representatives an opportunity to understand how they could use local government reform to serve their constituents better.

"Therefore the information on how we intend to opera