Belfast Telegraph  Thursday 25 December 2014  Power to the
people is way forward  As the Executive engages in a power
struggle with the councils, Ulster-born Princeton academic
Quinton Mayne argues that we will miss a golden opportunity if
we don't decentralise  The current debate on the reform of local
government may well seem like an unimportant turf war between
councils and the Assembly.  Nothing, though, could be further
from the truth.  The debate marks a critical juncture in the
life of democracy in post-devolution Northern Ireland. If the
Executive follows through on the proposals it recently issued,
and only limited powers are transferred to local councils, we
will miss out on an important opportunity to make our decision-
makers more accountable and our public services more responsive.
With the Assembly in place, a first step has clearly been taken
to improve the functioning of democracy in Northern Ireland.  A
direct link now exists between people and policy-makers in the
form of free, fair and time