I am very opposed to The Government taking over the Municipalities of Hamilton and St. George's. The move seems to be an unnecessary centralisation of power destined to result in the City of Hamilton and the Town of St. George being managed inefficiently.

Why Government wishes to do this no one really knows. The Government simply stated in the 2008 Throne Speech it will undertake to reform Bermuda's Municipalities, which many people took to mean they would work with the corporations to bring about reforms; this has now escalated to "the Cabinet has determined the most practical, efficient and effective reform would be to repeal the Municipalities Act 1923 and transition the operations of the Municipalities into the relevant Government departments".

This is hogwash. The Government has yet to explain why it has not commented on the reform proposals submitted to it by the Corporations. Why has it apparently rejected those proposals and why does it think it can do a better job than the Corporations?

Therein lies the problem. The Government does not explain anything to the people; it just does what it likes by edict. Minister Walter Roban has been told by the Premier to get on with the job of taking over the Corporations, without any consideration or detailed explanation to Parliament, or the people of Bermuda why it should be done.

The Government taking over the Corporations is a major consideration for Bermuda, one that will affect every Bermudian and every visitor who comes to our island home either to work or to visit as a tourist.

The proper way for Government to consider this important move is to take a Green Paper to Parliament laying out all of the reasons why it feels it would be in the best interest of Bermuda for it to take over the Municipalities.

However we know that may be too much to ask, since this administration has a track record of usurping Parliament's authority (and by extension the people of Bermuda's) and doing what it wants to do without consultation with anyone. Another example of this is the recent announcement made by the Premier that he proposes to invest in the hotel to be built on the South Shore in Warwick and to build 125 houses on the south side overlooking what was originally called Simmons Beach. This of course is being done without any consideration being given to the people of that area and the environmental impact that such a project might have on it. Again the approval of Parliament was not sought, even though we are talking about the tax payer's money being transferred to this project.

It is not a good idea for Governments to take over the management of the Municipalities. It is always better for there to be a separation and an independent authority running the municipalities. Central government managing the cities is not done in most of the Commonwealth democratic countries or in first world democratic countries i.e. America, Canada and the European countries. Why not? Because it is better to have an authority that is intimately involved in the management of the city and its only interest is seeing that the city is properly managed. The central government has too many other interests and responsibilities to provide the focus and attention the city needs.

But there is more to it than this, despite its importance. Will the central government, for example, have the interest and the sensitivity to be able to do all that the St. George's Corporation does to make their town attractive, not only for tourists but also for the rest of Bermuda as well? Would the central government, so far away and not having the same interest as St. Georgians, have been able to make St. Georges the World Heritage site that it is? I do not think so.

When the Government says it will transfer the operations of the Municipalities into the relevant Government departments it means different Ministers and different civil servants will be responsible for different parts of the management of operations. One can assume that garbage collection, street cleaning and the management of the docks will go to Public Works. Parking may go to Public Works or it may be given to the police. Management of the parks will probably go to the Ministry of the Environment. The Corporations do a very good job managing their parks as it is. Tax collection goes to Finance. It is questionable which department will be responsible for future planning, which is so very important for the city, since there is a hotel being proposed to be built in the city and of course consideration is still being given to the expansion into Hamilton Harbour (which I am opposed to).

It is easy to see that it will be difficult for all of these separate entities to work together as effectively as do now, and while trying to make it work, efficiency will be lost and the cost will go up.

I have not always agreed with everything the Hamilton Corporation has done, but by and large they have done a pretty good job of running the city and looking after all of its parts with a reasonably small budget. And I have always liked the effort put in by the Corporation of St. George. They always manage to get very dedicated people to serve.

I urge the Government to reconsider the position it has proposed of taking over the Municipalities and instead consider working with them to implement the necessary reforms.

I also strongly suggest they consider discussing the matter in Parliament and thereby keep the people of Bermuda informed of the pros and cons of the Corporations and Government's intention. It would be good for the Government to listen to other views instead of ruling by edict.

It would also be a good thing for Bermuda for the Government to work with the corporations on their proposal to extend their franchise and to continue to protect the voting rights of those who presently have the vote. The Government has an opportunity in this issue to show they can be a government of the people who is willing to be transparent and work with the people. I hope they will take it for the sake of Bermuda.