Local Government Authorities were established to provide equality and effective resource distribution.

The Government of Saint Lucia through the Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment held a consultation with constituency councils last Thursday to discuss the draft Local Authorities Act.

This new draft legislation seeks to better empower constituency councils by ensuring that they are able to generate revenue and gain maximum efficiency in resource management. The new draft legislation also seeks to transform constituency councils to municipalities and district councils.

Ms. Juliana Alfred, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Transformation, spoke on the establishment of the Municipality Corporation and District Council.

“Through funding from CARILED we are at the stage where we have a draft legislation which seeks to better empower the constituency councils to enable them to generate more revenue and manage resources more effectively. We want to get the participant’s feedback on the draft legislation. In the current draft bill what is being proposed is to convert existing towns and cities to municipalities. It would function as a corporation, basically as the CCC operates now, and would have a lot more power than the district councils. The district councils would have less authority and responsibility.”

Consultant, Petrus Compton, said that the bill is an enabling instrument that ensures that all tools needed to boost efficiency at the local authority level will finally emerge.

“You need tools to ensure that you manage the process effectively and efficiently. You all have needs that were brought forth at different gatherings. This bill creates a framework within which all of the different tools the local government staff needs will eventually emerge. The bill however will create and extend the power and authority to do the other things that are required to make the system work as they want it to.”

Vieux Fort Mayor Mr. Winall Joshua noted the importance of the consultation.

"When concluded, it will bring us closer to local government authorities having more power and it will advance the decentralizing process and make it better in terms of the management of districts and municipalities in  the country.”

The draft Local Authority Act of 2015 examines the functions and powers of council elections and the appointment of councilors.

The local government reform process has a long history dating back to the 1947 Local Authority Ordinance Act to the existing 2012 Constituency Council Act.