John Junor urges Govt. to Speed up Reform Process

Member of Parliament for Central Manchester, John Junor, is urging the Government to speed up the reform of Local Government in Jamaica.
Making his contribution to the 2007/08 Sectoral Debate in the House yesterday (June 26), Mr. Junor said that, “there needs to be a point where you say we are out of the reform.”
“We need to re-look at some of the duties that we have. This notion of Parish Council roads and Public Works roads and Parish Council water and National Water Commission (NWC) water is foolishness and we should stop it. For all of this, there needs to be one road authority in Jamaica,” Mr. Junor suggested.
The Member of Parliament argued that there was also the need to give the local councils more power to charge local rates.
“If you want the services, you must be prepared to pay for them and that is where you can then begin to hold the representatives responsible in those circumstances,” Mr. Junor said.
According to the Ministry of Local Government and Environment website, the Government has initiated a comprehensive reform of Local Government in Jamaica.
The primary objective of this programme is to create a strong, viable and effective system of Local Government, which will deepen the democratic process and facilitate the empowerment of citizens by enabling them to participate more fully and directly in the process of governance and in the management of their own affairs.