Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Department of Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister officially commenced its commemoration of Local Government Month, with the staging of the national church service at the Calvary Baptist Church in Montego Bay, St James yesterday.

Local Government Month is celebrated in Jamaica every November and this year it is being observed under the theme 'Local Government Reform: putting governance in your hands'.

In his address, Minister of State in the Department of Local Government, Robert Montague, reiterated that by September 2009, all local authorities - parish councils, the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation and the Portmore Municipal Council - will be self-directed and independent and free from the control of Central Government.

Local authorities

"Our theme for the month, not only aptly reflects this state of the reform process and the thinking of this government to put governance into the hands of the citizens through their respective local authorities," Montague said. "But it also emphasizes that principle of embracing the participation of the citizenry and our accountability to them."

Montague said the church had a major role to play in the Local Government Reform process.

The reform process

"I call on the church to take its place in local government and the reform process, for it is the church that is deemed to shape the social and moral fibre of our society, through its reach and the strong local network that is at the heart of what is needed for good governance," he said, noting that citizen's participation is critical to the country attaining good governance.

"An informed citizen is one who participates, fully understands that democracy is not the five seconds spent in a polling booth every three years, but rather, democracy is the active participation of that same citizen in the day-to-day decision-making process at the local level.

With full reform of Local Government, the island's local authorities will have greater autonomy, resources, and greater responsibility. The reform process is geared at outlining the roles and responsibilities of local authorities, defining the boundaries between Local and Central Government, to prevent overlaps and to ultimately entrench Local Government in the constitution.