Legislation to Entrench Local Governance Tabled in Parliament

The Government has commenced the process of entrenching local governance in Jamaica’s Constitution, with the tabling of the Constitution (Amendment) (Local Government) Act.

The Bill was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 30, by Leader of Government Business in the Lower House, Hon. Phillip Paulwell.

The legislation is in keeping with recommendations made in the August 1993 Report of the Constitution of Jamaica and the May 1995 final report of the Joint Select Committee of the Houses of Parliament on Constitutional and Electoral Reform.

The reports emphasised the need for certain public offices and institutions to be included in the Constitution of Jamaica.

According to the Bill, the purpose of local government is to encourage and assist the effective participation of local communities in the affairs of local government and to give local authorities the ability to provide local public services and facilities to carry out other related activities for the benefit of local communities and the wider public.

Local authorities are also being given the ability to perform regulatory functions to facilitate the management, improvement and development of resources of local communities.

The Bill also allows Parliament to make provision for local authorities to generate and spend their own revenue, and to provide for the holding of local government elections.