MINISTER OF Local Government, Youth and Community Development, Arnold Bertram, has received support from the island's mayors for his proposal to streamline the 13 existing local authorities into five regional bodies.
According to the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), at their monthly meeting with the Minister last week, the mayors passed a resolution which gave the Minister a mandate to outline his proposal in a formal document to be submitted to them for discussion.
"I received a mandate of approval for deepening the reform process and I've been asked as quickly as possible to document these proposals to facilitate discussions so that the process can move forward," Mr. Bertram told the JIS.
The mayors are all supporters of the ruling People's National Party (PNP).
Last week, at a weekly "Think Tank" meeting, Mr. Bertram said he was proposing to reduce the number of local authorities from 13 to five on the ground that the economic activity in some parishes could not support a dedicated local authority. He also said regionalisation could ensure a more equitable distribution and efficient use of resources.
The decision by the mayors to engage in dialogue on the matter came in the wake of public outrage debate which followed the Minister's statement last week. The mayors said they were supportive of the idea if it would facilitate the development of more efficient and effective local authorities.
"We are all of the same view and concern that the local authorities need to be able to perform their work in a manner that is befitting their status and if we had a regional and organised body, certain works being done regionally would benefit us more," Mayor Hugh Solomon of Montego Bay said.
Describing the proposal as "a practical step", Mayor Solomon said he envisioned that streamlining would enable the local authorities to provide a better service to the public.
"If you have roads to be fixed and you have a regional works department or a regional engineering department that could move from one area to the other, it would enable us to do a lot more," he explained.
The Mayors have requested detailed information on the proposal so as to be able to participate in the discussion from a more informed perspective.
Mr. Bertram has said that he would now prepare a detailed document, which would be forwarded to mayors and deputy mayors throughout the island for their consideration.
The Minister will meet with them for further discussion on December 13.
