Regional policy on local government undergoes consultation
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Contact: Adhara King
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 – Regional ministries of local government recently engaged in a consultative process on draft policy framework to streamline the functions of local governance in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Forum of Local Government Ministers (CFLGM) first commissioned the drafting of a Regional Policy and Cooperation Framework on Local Governance in the Caribbean in August 2005.
“It is based on the fact that in the region we have small states, and there is a great variety in the levels of development of local democracy throughout the country. For example there are countries with 400 years of local government as against countries that have just 12 years, like the Bahamas.” Regional Local Governance Advisor to the CFLGM, Winston Cramer said.
Cramer asserts that the framework—as the name suggests—is a guideline that leaves room for customized application.
“The policy also does not replace individual country's public policy on local govt. What the policy does is to serve as a guide. Right now, throughout the Caribbean, countries are reforming their local government, they are expanding their local government—some are even re-introducing,” said Cramer.
The policy, Cramer said, is also informed by international mandates, treaties and protocols to which governments in the region have been signatories. He cited the Millennium Development Goals, the Beijing Platform, and Agenda 21 as examples. |
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