Mayor of Montego Bay Calls for Action to Accelerate Local Governance Reform

Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, is calling for stronger collaboration and action to advance local governance reform across Jamaica.

“If there was ever a time to deliberately accelerate local governance reform, that time is now,” he emphasised.

Speaking at the Social Development Commission (SDC) Governance Conference at the Iberostar Resort in Montego Bay, St. James, on July 9, Mayor Vernon said the country must act decisively to strengthen systems and improve community outcomes.

The conference was staged in collaboration with the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

Councillor Vernon welcomed the staging of the conference and praised the organisers for encouraging inclusive dialogue.

“To the SDC and PIOJ, I congratulate you and welcome this consultation to operationalise participation and bridge gaps,” he said.

Mayor Vernon urged participants to ensure that the work of the conference leads to real and lasting change.

“Let this framework be more than a policy artefact. Let it be a living system, resourced, monitored, and continuously refined. Let us move beyond frameworks into the realm of institutional transformation,” he emphasised.

The Mayor argued that development challenges cannot be solved by any one municipality and require national effort.

“Montego Bay cannot do it alone. We need the entire St. James; we need the other municipalities so that we can fix this challenge nationally,” he said.

The Mayor also encouraged delegates to fully embrace the conference’s theme, ‘Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on a Mission to Reset the Vibe… Build Our Future… Reignite the Fire’, as a strategy for realising national development goals.

“Let us embrace the theme of this conference, not as a slogan but as a strategy – building communities, building Jamaica – and in so doing, making Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise our families, do business and, I hear now, retire,” he said.

The Mayor affirmed the municipality’s commitment to support the outcomes of the conference.

The conference aimed to strengthen the governance of civil society and community-based organisations.