Thursday, May 14, 2009Local Govt For Nassau

VANESSA ROLLE-CLARKEPM Hints Implementation Of Local Govt In Nassau

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has hinted that the government is seriously considering the introduction of some form of local government in Nassau.

"Calls for some form of municipal government for the City of Nassau have become urgent. Already a Nassau Development Board, formed during one of my earlier terms in office, has presented proposals for the creation of a management office for the city," Prime Minister Ingraham said on Monday night.

He was delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 5th annual Commonwealth Local Government Conference in Grand Bahama, which is expected to wrap up today.

A particular idiosyncrasy of local government is its absence from the Island of New Providence, home to three quarters of the Bahamian population.

The prime minister said the dramatic population and commercial growth into the suburbs of the city of Nassau have already resulted in the development of important city centres in the outlying districts of the capital.

This growth, he said, could be managed with the institution of local city councils or town committees that would oversee a myriad of matters impacting the lives of residents.

He said these local city councils could also be charged with overseeing matters that relate to environmental control, local traffic problems, improved collection and disposal of solid waste, the maintenance of neighbourhoods, schools, libraries, streets and parks.

"I have no doubt that those delegates from our central government agencies attending this week’s conference will be especially anxious to garner from your discussions, ideas of local government administration which might be successfully introduced to our capital city and its suburbs," the prime minister said.

Highlighting that Freeport has the most effective system of Local Government in The Bahamas, the prime minister said even though it is managed locally and privately by the Grand Bahama Port Authority, it is not without its share of challenges.

"Freeport’s governing system has worked well for Freeport. It is not, however, without its own tensions between governor and governed," he said.

"Freeport’s reality is that a small logging settlement on this large Family Island in the middle of the last century has become the second largest population centre in The Bahamas today, the industrial hub of The Bahamas, an employment centre and host to one of the deepest container transshipment ports in our region."

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