Neita-Garvey says decade-old local government reforms still incomplete

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Opposition Spokesperson on Local Government and Participatory Democracy Natalie Neita-Garvey says three critical Acts passed in Parliament in 2016 to transform Jamaica's local government financing and governance framework have never been given full effect because the Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie has failed to bring the required regulations to Parliament in nearly 10 years.Garvey who made the remarks during her sectoral contribution on Wednesday described the failure as inexcusable. She noted that McKenzie, who has held the portfolio for over a decade, appeared in Parliament last week promising a new Building Act whilst the regulatory framework for flagship 2016 legislation put in place by the previous Portia Simpson Miller administration remains incomplete.She argued that without those regulations, the promised reforms on financial empowerment, directly elected executive mayors, and genuine municipal autonomy exist only on paper.Jamaica has been reforming local government for over 30 years. We passed three Acts in 2016 with genuine ambition. Nearly a decade on, municipalities are still begging for ministerial permission to clean a drain. Citizens seeking a permit still wander from office to office as though governance were a scavenger hunt. The Minister cannot announce a new act whilst the regulations for the acts previously passed remain unwritten. That is not reform. That is the appearance of reform, said Neita-Garvey.Neita-Garvey urged the Government to table the outstanding regulations for all three 2016 Acts before the end of the current parliamentary session, commit to a published timetable for the introduction of directly elected executive mayors, and present Parliament with a concrete plan for ending the financial dependency of municipal corporations on central government approval for routine operational expenditure.She also called for the Social Development Commission to be given a clear and modernised mandate, including digital engagement tools, to ensure that community participation in local decision-making becomes a genuine exercise of democratic voice rather than a ceremonial consultation.