Gov’t Committed To Local Government Process – Fagan

State Minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Colin Fagan, is assuring that the Government is committed to fast-tracking the local government process.

Addressing a special meeting with the Manchester Parish Council in Mandeville last week, Mr. Fagan said the administration wanted to ensure that “the work that was started some time ago…gets to the point where we can…take the recommendations (proposed by the Rex Nettleford Committee), and go forward”.

“I don’t think there is any contention with that… because the former administration had actually agreed that one of the ways to go with the reforms is to act on the recommendations. We think that we should go forward to ensure that local government is…entrenched in the Constitution so that we can (facilitate) that (level of) autonomy where…the people can know that the councillors are the first persons in government (with whom) they can meet…and talk about their business. We are committed to that,” the State Minister said.

Mr. Fagan pointed out, however, that the reform process was “going to take some time” to be implemented, due, among other things, to work which the Ministry of Justice had to effect in several pieces of legislation relating to community development, among other things.

“But certainly (the) Finance and Accountability, New Governance Act, and the Human Resource Management Act, as stated, are those that we are committed to in the first instance,” he informed.

Additionally, the State Minister cited the need to strengthen the parish development committees as well as look at the operations of the municipal courts, and the provisions of the spirit licence “to see how revenue can be gained through that source and other areas”. He also assured that monetary allocations for Councillors, akin to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation that is currently received by Members of Parliament, would also be explored.

Mr. Fagan commended the Manchester Parish Council for having “blazed the trail” in respect of community development, pointing out that “every time we speak about an example of what local government should be, we will always want to refer to Manchester; we are going to draw on your own experience, and ask you to work with us, as we go forward in this new dispensation”.

The meeting formed part of the series of familiarization visits which Local Government Minister, Hon. Noel Arscott and State Minister Fagan, are having with the island’s municipal authorities. 

By Douglas McIntosh, JIS Reporter