THE EDITOR, Sir:
I READ with great interest your Letter of the Day written by Mr. Garfield O. Whittaker of the Department of Geography, California State University, Northridge who enlightened us on the advantages of the County Local Government Council using a historical perspective to paint the landscape. I have long wondered what is the purpose of the counties if they are not incorporated into the government structure. Given the debate which is beginning, I would like to add my thoughts.
We have all acknowledged that the performance of the current local government system of governance has been dismal for many years. A contributing factor to this track record is the fact that the purse strings are controlled by the Members of Parliament but most of the complaints and concerns come to the Parish Councillors. I therefore think that there is a need to critically assess how these two arms of government work together locally and to develop a model which ultimately facilitates growth and development to the constituency and the constituents.
I am of the belief that the old model local Parish Councils should be done away with. The old configuration would be replaced with a model comprising of a condensed collaborative council where the Member of Parliament instead of having a constituency would be the representative of a parish sitting on this council along with key players such as representatives of the business sector, religious sector, NGOs and town-planning in the regional sphere. The region would be defined using the boundaries of the counties.
As Mr. Whittaker stated, this type of management would eliminate waste and duplication of effort. It would also eliminate much of the tribalism currently being experienced between constituencies and Members of Parliament. Parish Councillors would become the foot soldiers of the Members of Parliament working more as the management team of the Members of Parliament office and implementers of strategies to address the issues. This relationship would facilitate direct communication back and forth and the allocation of resources could be better prioritised in the interest of the public. This would ensure that the value for the tax dollars spent would be evident.
Of course this would mean reducing the number of Members of Parliament and Parish Councillors such that efficiency can be achieved. I encourage the public to weigh in on this issue with the hope that the elected officials will start giving some consideration to a more effective model especially in these very economically challenging times.
I am etc.
WAYNE WEBB
wawewe@netscape.net
President and CEO
Helping Hands For Immigrants'
Integration Inc
3042 Wickham Avenue
Bronx, New York
Via Go-Jamaica
