KINGSTOWN, St Vincent:
State officials here will seek the advice of their regional counterparts in reforming local government in St Vincent and the Grenadines as this country hosts a three-day meeting of local government ministers and senior members of their technical staff from the English-speaking Caribbean this week.
“That’s when the ministers will come together and forge the new path for local government development in the region,” Rosita Snagg, acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry with responsibility for local government, told reporters in Kingstown last week.
“We are trying to become part of the local government movement. We have a semblance of local government here but we really want to get into the democratic local government,” Snagg said.
Snagg further said that local officials will on Friday meet with Carl Wright, head of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (COLGOF).
The meeting will seek to assist the head of the Local Government Reform Commissioner in St Vincent and the Grenadines in the development of workshop for commissioners and other members of ministry “so that we will we will have a better understanding of how we move ahead in developing our own local government strategy.”
COLGOF is a non-profit organisation registered in the United Kingdom which tries to coordinate local government activities in Commonwealth countries.
Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities (CALGA) is affiliated with forum. But while this country is a member of CALGA, it will take further steps to achieve that status within the larger organisation during this week's meeting.
