Montague

As of January 1 next year, all property tax collected by the Government will go directly to the parish councils.

The move is in keeping with strategies that the Government intends to pursue over the next two years to place more responsibility in the hands of the local authorities, as part of the reform process.

"That money is to pay for street lighting and solid waste collection," explained Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government, Robert Montague, at a Kiwanis Club of St. Andrew meeting held Thursday night at the Hilton Kingston hotel.

Calling the tune

"What happens today is that the utility company is paid whether the streetlights work or not because they are paid from the Ministry of Local Government. Now that the property tax will be in the hands of the councils, they will make the determination whether the streetlight works or not ... he who pays the piper will now call the tune, and the councils will be calling the tune," he said.

Additionally, he said issues such as housing for the indigent, parish infrastructure, minor water supplies, public markets, sanitary conveniences, parks and gardens, emergency relief, disaster management and preparedness, day care facilities, and hotel and trade licences, will now fall under the ambit of the parish councils.

"In other words, the local government authority in the parish will finally become Government in the parish. Therefore, if anything of significance is happening in the parish, it has to come through the local authority," he pointed out.

According to the State Minister, the Government, over the next two years, also intends to have a single road building agency and the maintenance of roads will be the responsibility of the parish councils.

In addition, parish councillors will not only be required to disclose budgets to the citizens, but they will have to make reports about how the money is being used.

"The sum of this is better service delivery for the citizens in the community because the citizens will have a feel that their vote is important. At the community level, people must play a part in how they are governed," he stated, informing that the government will establish a Local Public Accounts Committee to review the budgets of the local authorities.

Transparency and accountability

"It is all about transparency and accountability. So that the people can know which councillor is falling asleep and which councillor is not coming to meetings," he noted.

Mr. Montague told the meeting that, as part of the reform process, the roles and functions of central and local government will be carefully outlined to ensure that responsibilities do not overlap.