Whither local government in development?

Pauline Gregory-Lewis, Guest Columnist

In May, the Commonwealth Local Government Fraternity held its conference in Kampala, Uganda, under the theme 'Developmental Local Government: Putting Local Government at the Heart of Development'.

Delegates to the conference, of which Jamaica was a part, made several declarations, one of which indicated that "strong local government is critical for nation building, resilient and effective governance, and development at the local level provides the foundation for a strong nation".

The Jamaican delegation, being party to that declaration, warrants some introspection.

The introspection should begin with an understanding of where our system is. Therefore, what has been the state of local government involvement in development in Jamaica? Is it even involved? In what ways can it become more involved, so that it can measure up to the declaration stated above and, more so, fulfil the theme of the conference?

REFORM IN LIMBO

Local government reform in Jamaica has remained, at best, ongoing. Several new pieces of legislation have been on the table from as far back as 2010, awaiting approval, with the aim of modernising the system. The legislation is critical and should result in starting the process of having a modern legal framework in which the system should operate; and significantly replace some of the more than 90 archaic acts of Parliament which now guide the system, some as way back as 1886.

So, despite our yearly attendance, and our symbolic involvement in declarations about a modern local government system, Jamaica's local government system falls woefully inadequate in meeting the current paradigm of "local government in development". This is so because our system is bound up in talks of reform and reports on reforms, while the actualisation of the reform remains in limbo.

RECOMMENDATIONS STILLBORN

Importantly, the 2009 report of the National Advisory Council on Local Government Reform, which has some fundamental recommendations on the way forward, has remain stillborn; tangled up in a historical framework beset by tribal politics, winner-take-all bickering, and a system which makes local government the groundswell for election outcomes for our two major political parties.

So the question is, how does the current state of Jamaica's local government system intend to meet the Kampala declaration that "national governments and development partners must ensure that developmental local government is fully integrated into the post-2015 development agenda, given that local government has now been acknowledged as a global partner at the 2013 UN General Assembly?"

How will Jamaica, having gone to this conference, fit into this global march for local authorities to be so upgraded with the necessary resources and capacity, bolstered by recognition and affirmation from the political, so that they can make their contribution to national development planning and the development agenda set out in the 2030 plan?

The Government and the Cabinet must now decide. Will we continue to reform in form and not substance? Or will we rise to the occasion and make the system of local government integral to the development of Jamaica?

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