On the invitation of the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Minister of Local Government and Community Development the Honourable Noel Arscott has left the island to attend the seventh CLGF Conference in Kampala, Uganda.

The Minister will be supported by a 2-man technical team comprising his executive assistant, and the Local Government Reform Project Manager. The size of the delegation was deliberately kept small in order to contain the cost of the undertaking.

The 2013 CLGF conference being hosted by the Government of Uganda, will explore decentralization as a strategy for ensuring that development meets the needs of local communities while providing opportunities for interaction with international development partners (funding agencies) such as UNDP and EU among others.   Discussions will be contextualized under the theme “Developmental Local Government – putting local government at the heart of development”.

Jamaica is a long standing member of the CLGF and has always been invited to participate in its bi-annual conferences.  The sitting president of the Association of Local Government Authorities Jamaica (ALGAJ) is also a regular participant fully sponsored by the CLGF. The Minister of Local Government & Community Development who is a Board member of the Commonwealth Local Local Government Forum, Chairman of the Caribbean Local Government Forum of Ministers (CLGFM) and Co-Chairman of the Programme Steering Committee of Caribbean Local Economic Development Programme (CARILED), is expected to make a presentation on Thursday, May 16 at 9:00 a.m. He will be speaking on the topic Developmental local government: providing leadership for social development and economic growth.

The Ministerial team will also make an official visit to South Africa, at the invitation of the South African Government, from May 19-24, 2013, where a third member, consultant on Local Government Reform will join the group.

Also attending the seventh CLGF conference is the Vice President of ALGAJ and Her worship, the Mayor of Kingston.