Councils Need More Public/Private Sector Partnerships

MONTEGO BAY — Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with responsibility for Local Government, Hon. Shahine Robinson, wants the Trelawny Parish Council to encourage more partnerships between the public and private sectors in the parish, to accelerate its development.

Addressing the third in her islandwide series of ‘Day-in-Council’ meetings, in the Falmouth Council Chamber on Wednesday, October 5, Mrs. Robinson explained that the meetings were designed to get discussions going between the Council, stakeholders and agency heads on more tangible economic development in Trelawny.

“No doubt, the new (Falmouth) pier that has generated much excitement had some consensus and input from Council and, I am saying, build on that model in improving your local economic development. By this, I am alluding to deepening the private-public partnership dialogue enhanced and embraced by citizens’ participation,” she said.

“The public-private partnership should not be seen as something that central government alone engages in, and the local economies benefit from the trickle-down effect. The time has come for this partnership to become a dominant feature, in the way forward for the economic development of our parishes,” she stated.

The Minister suggested that the theme for the upcoming Local Government month (November) celebration, ‘Local Government – your partner in community development’, be embraced as a first step in guiding citizens to building partnerships for their local economies.

“This is where I introduce the local economic concept.  This is not a new one, but is being favourably viewed as a highly recommended practice to improving economic competitiveness, within Local Government jurisdictions the world over,” she said.

She explained that it also focuses on enhancing partnerships within the community, increasing sustainable growth and ensuring that growth is inclusive. 

Mrs. Robinson said that all the initiatives in the Local Government Reform Programme were aimed at empowering the Parish Councils.

By Glenis Rose, JIS Reporter