Jamaica: Local Government Reform: A Framework for Decentralization

Jamaica: Local Government Reform:
  A Framework for Decentralization

1993- The Government of Jamaica embarks on its
   Local Government Reform Agenda with the
      presentation of Ministry Paper 8/93.

Ministry Paper 8/93 pointed out the development of
     the Local Government Reform programme

Jamaica: Framework For Decentralization
cont’d
„   It dealt with the management of Local Authorities, the provision
    of local services, the filling of priority posts in the local
    authorities.

„   Ministry Paper 7/03 further elaborated on the tenets of good
    governance eg. Accountability, Transparency, and to include
    citizen participation in the decision making process, the
    development of Parish Development Committees (PDCs’), and
    Community Development Committees(CDCs’).

„   This points to an increasing interest to the commitment of
    Decentralization.

Successes Under Decentralization
„   The creation of the Parochial Revenue Fund in 1996, which
    gives the local authorities 66 2/3 % of all the Motor Vehicle
    Licenses Fees, which is used for the rehabilitation and
    maintenance of Parochial Roads.

„   Local Authorities are now able to set their own rates and fees
    for the services they provide to citizens.

„   Local authorities now have total control over their General
    Revenues and their Commercial Services Fees.

Successes cont’d
General Revenues consist of:
„ Trade licenses fees
„ Amusement licenses fees
„ Barbers and Hairdressers fees
„ Numbering fees to name a few

Commercial Services Revenues consist of:
„ Market fees
„ Cemetery fees
„ Butchers fees
„ Animal pound fees
„ Car park fees

Objectives of the Reform Programme
„   The restoration of functions and responsibilities that were
    removed from local government and rehabilitation of the
    Councils.

„   Establishment of new financing arrangements for local
    government which will allocate to them adequate and
    independent sources of revenue and will give the local
    authorities effective control over these sources of revenue.

„   To upgrade the institutional capacity of local authorities to
    ensure that they are able to perform their functions in an
    efficient and cost effective manner.

Objectives cont’d
„   To effect a comprehensive revision of all out-dated legislation
    which presently constitute a major constraint to the effective
    performance of the local authorities.

„   To upgrade the quality and cost-efficiency of all local
    government services and regulatory functions.

„   To examine the present distribution of service responsibilities
    between central and local government, community
    organizations, NGOs’, and the private sector, and to identify
    better or more cost-effective arrangements for the delivery of
    these services.

Institutional Capacity Building
„   New positions have been created in the local authorities and
    this has attracted a new cadre of highly skilled professionals to
    administer the affairs of the local authorities.

Some of the new priority positions are:
„ Director of Finance
„ Director of Planning
„ Director of Administration

„   Also some local authorities have now put in place a Scholarship
    fund to assist its staff in acquiring tertiary education, and all
    administrative staff of the local authorities have been trained in
    computer applications.

Institutional Capacity Bldg. Cont’d
„   Also under the Parish Infrastructure Development Programme
    (PIDP), which is a joint GOJ/IDB Project, Training Interventions
    have been designed and have begun to be implemented for
    both the Political Directorate and Administrative staff of the
    local authorities in the following areas:
„   Business Writing
„   Planning and Conducting Effective Meetings
„   Financial Management
„   Councillor Training
„   Human Resource Management
„   Customer Service

Training Interventions cont’d.
„   Public Works Management
„   Citizen Participation
„   Project Management
„   Strategic Project Planning
„   Strategic Economic Development Planning
„   Legal

Community Participation and
                Development
„   The local authorities now have annual community forums in
    which they present to its citizens its annual budget

„   Also the St. James Parish Council has created what is called a
    “Community Development Grant” which was created from a
    percentage of the Property Taxes collected in the Parish and
    this grant is used to assist communities in the parish to
    undertake either economic or development projects.
„   Example: The Adelphi Sorrel Project in the community of
    Adelphi in St. James.

„   The creation of Parish Development Committees (PDCs’) to
    work in partnership with the local authorities to pursue
    development of their respective parishes. To date 14 PDCs’ have
    been established to meet this objective.

Accountability and Transparency
„   All Council and Committee meetings of the local authorities are
    now opened to the public with the exception of the Poor Relief
    Committee and the Human Resource or Establishment
    Committee.

„   Local authorities now take their budgets to the public

„   The public can now access information it requires from the local
    authorities under the new “Access to Information Act”

Planning

„   The creation of the Universal Numbering System to track Sub-
    division and large scale projects from the local authorities to all
    the different state agencies that have to give approvals.

„   Local authorities have established a Database Management
    System to track all Sub-division, large projects and Residential
    applications.

Revision of Outdated Legislation
„   Sixty-nine (69) local government laws have to be revised to
    meet this objective of the reform.

„   To date eight (8) have been revised and promulgated. They are:
„   The Pound Act
„   The Keeping of Animals Act
„   The Parish Council and KSAC Acts (Sale of Goods in Public
    Places Regulations)
„   The National Solid Waste Management Authority Act
„   The National Solid Waste Management Authority Act
    (Regulations)

Revision cont’d
„   The public Health Act (Barbers and Hairdressers Regulations)

„   The Road Traffic Act ( Parking Regulations)

„   The Municipalities Act, which has led to the creation of the
    Municipality of Portmore and Jamaica’s 1st directly elected
    Mayor.

The Future
The medium to long-term objectives under the reform agenda is
 as follows:
„  To entrench the Local Authorities in the Constitution

„   To create other financing arrangements for the local authorities
    which will allow them to source financing for Capital Projects
    and to use their present sources of revenue as collateral

„   To create uniformed By-Laws for the local authorities

„   The promulgation of a new Local Government Act