Local Government & Community Month 2012 culminated on a high note with the staging of the Local Government Awards (for Local Authorities) on Friday, November 30, 2012.

The approximately one hundred and thirty (130) persons in attendance witnessed the handing out of awards in seven (7) categories.

The Kingston & St Andrew Corporation received the award for Improvement in Property Tax Collections, St Thomas Parish Council got the award for Enhancing Own Source Revenue, St Elizabeth Parish Council for Efforts at Improving the Welfare of the Poor, while the Westmoreland Parish Council copped two awards, one for efforts geared at Engaging Citizens’ Participation in the Affairs of Local Government and other which they shared with the Manchester Parish Council, for Implementation of Core Local Government Reform Initiatives.

Mayor of Savana-la-mar Councillor Bertel Moore attributes his council’s success at the awards function to good leadership and team work.

“I have thirteen (13) councillors that work with me, in whatever we are doing we work as a team and I have a Secretary/Manager who is next to none she is one of the best you can fine in Jamaica right now”, He said.

Meanwhile, the Minister’s awards presented to stakeholders (individual or organization) for partnership in the reform efforts of the Ministry, was presented to Food for the Poor and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

Mrs Rhonda Lumsden-Lue General Manager Human Resource Management, MIS and Communications at JSIF, said she was very pleased to be accepting the award on behalf of her organization.  “When we told the staff they were extremely elated, and our managers and directors are very proud” she said. “It is good to know that the work that we are doing is being recognized”, she added.

The staging of the awards function which started in 2009 as a way of recognizing those Local Authorities that have performed creditably in respective areas of the Local Government Reform Programme, took place on the picturesque Laughing Water property located just outside of Ocho Rios in St, Ann. The setting provided the ideal atmosphere to meet the secondary objective of the function which was is to build rapport among members of the various councils and staff of the Ministry.

                                                                                  For Immediate Release

Kingston, Jamaica…………………………………………………23rd November 2012

The Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Noel Arscott has condemned the senseless killing of Valentine Reid, a Security Guard employed to Quest Security Services and stationed at the Riverton Disposal Site.

Its no easy feat working at the Disposal Site and for someone to ambush and kill another Human Being unprovoked is barbaric and cruel.

The Minister would like to offer the family and colleagues of Mr. Reid his sincere condolences and implore the security forces that no effort should be spared in bring those responsible to justice.

Shauna Guthrie (Mrs.)

Community Relations Manager

National Solid Waste Management Authority

As the celebration of Local Government and Community Development Month 2012 continues, Minister Arscott took the opportunity to highlight the significance of the positions of Mayor and Deputy Mayor with the first official Investiture Ceremony held on Friday, November 9, 2012. The ceremony took place at King’s House and was attended by the Governor General Sir Patrick Allen who brought greetings.

In his address Minister Arscott told the Mayors and Deputy Mayors that they were responsible for the image of the Local Authority and they should ensure that it ‘always maintains its relevance and splendour as the seat of Government for the parish’. He added that one way of doing this is to focus on quality service delivery which should be high on their agendas especially as the government strive to reform local government.

The Minister further charged the Council leaders to always be mindful of the fact that the revitalization of local government is dependent on their leadership. “Without your astute and deliberate leadership…it will become increasingly difficult to implement these far-reaching policies and plans”, he said.

The investiture ceremony was hailed as one of the main features of this year’s observation of Local Government and Community Development Month as it provided the opportunity for Mayors and Deputy Mayors to receive one of the highest forms of acknowledgement of their roles in the Local Government structure.

The Celebration of Local Government & Community Development Month 2012 continues with the island’s fourteen (14) youth mayors paying a courtesy call on the Prime Minister on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. The courtesy call will be followed by a luncheon with the Minister of Local Government and the Hon Lisa Hanna Minister of Youth and Culture at the Ministry’s offices at 85 Hagley Park Road, Kingston 10 and a visit to the Bank of Jamaica’s Museum.

On Sunday November 4, 2012 the Ministry of Local Government & Community Development officially launched Local Government and Community Month 2012 under the theme: Local Government; on a mission together, building better communities.

The launch formed part of the National Church Service held in collaboration with the Manchester Parish Council and the Social Development Commission (SDC) at the St Augustine Anglican Church in Porus, Manchester.

In delivering his Local Government & Community Month message Minister of Local Government & Community Development the Hon Noel Arscott,emphasised the value of community involvement in local governance. “Critical decision-making and priority setting at the community level is of significant import to the local governance process as the wealth of knowledge and experience throughout our communities is an extremely valuable repository from which we draw inspiration” He said.

The Minister also gave his commitment to continuing the participatory approach to governance saying that the Ministry would be “doubling its efforts to increase the direct engagement of our Civil Society Partners particularly our Parish Development Committees (PDCs) through the strategic linkages developed by the Social Development Commission.”

While acknowledging that our local government system boasts international renown and is admired by our Caribbean and Commonwealth counterparts, the minister said that there was still much to be done. He encouraged members of the local government fraternity to use local government month, November, to reflect on their roles and responsibilities and to come “to the singular conclusion that Local Governance is a major plank for Jamaica’s continued development.”

Representatives from the Ministry of Health met with local government officials on Wednesday October 3, 2012 to discuss a joint approach to addressing public health issues.

The meeting, which including the island’s Mayors, was held against the background of rising concerns about a possible Dengue outbreak.

After a presentation on the disease Dr Michael Coombs of the Ministry of health appealed to the local government leaders to use their offices to spread the message about prevention and control of Dengue and other environmental related illnesses.

Meanwhile Local Government Minister Noel Arscott, asked Mayors to emphasise the matter of personal responsibility when speaking to their constituents about public health. “We need to get people to dispose of their garbage properly and to be more conscientious about their environment” he said.

The local government officials were also asked to work closely with their parish public health officers and to use their positions to ensure that services such as garbage collection are efficiently carried out.

The Ministry participated in a vision 2030 governance sector group seminar at the Terra Nova Hotel on Wednesday October 3, 2012. The objective of the seminar was to develop the next set of medium term goals for the sector.

The seminar, led by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) included a wide cross section of stakeholders who met to assess the Vision 2030 medium term goals for 2009-2012. The group collected and examined data to determine what has been achieved, what needs to be changed and what is to be done going forward.

Three workshops were convened during the session; Local Governance, Public Sector Modernization and Equity. At of the day priority issues and actions were established for further development by the PIOJ.   The PIOJ will be consulting with the Local Government Ministry, which houses the governance thematic group, during the refinement process.

Participants in the workshop included the Social Development Commission, Jamaicans for Justice, the Cabinet Office, the UNDP, the Dispute Resolution Foundation and others.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Noel Arscott, is this afternoon, expressing regret at the loss suffered by several families in the wake of a fire which razed a multi-storey dwelling and adjoining buildings on the corner of Beeston and Regent Streets in downtown Kingston, yesterday.

Minister Arscott who is now in receipt of an interim report from the Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and upon perusal of same, is also using the opportunity to commend the firefighting team for their speedy response and professional conduct in managing and bringing the fire under control.

“I applaud these men and women who have been operating under very difficult and trying circumstances, yet, continue to give selflessly to protect the lives and properties of Jamaicans. The coordinated efforts of our firefighters in managing the recent spate of fires over the last couple of days is testimony to this resolve”, Minister Arscott added.

The Report which was culled from the station log chronicled the chain of events including the response time and the operational procedures by the fire fighters on the scene. The Commissioner of the JFB, Laurie Williams, noted that the crew employed sufficient command, control and ongoing risk assessment to deal with situation on location.

The log indicated that the Brigade received its first call at 11:30a.m, and were on the scene at 11:39a.m. It is in light of this initial review of the operations that Minister Arscott is commending the crew in response to the negative comments directed at the firefighters indicating that they were tardy and ill-prepared in responding to the fire.