Church Teachers' College to stage Local Government forum

With Local Government elections due next Monday, major stakeholders in Manchester have come together to stage a forum to discuss the relevance of the parochial governance system to the parish.

The forum, which is being held under the theme: Is Local Government Necessary: What is the current model achieving for the people of Manchester?, will take place in the Kenneth Thaxter Building at Church Teachers' College in Mandeville tomorrow staring at 6 p.m.

Dudley McLean, coach of the Church Teachers' College Debate and Integrity Club, which has organised the forum, said local government has deviated from its original mandate causing the breakdown in structure being experienced today.

Chairman of the Manchester Parish Development committee, Anthony Freckleton, said there needs to be a clear distinction between the roles of the local representatives and the agencies with which they work.

"We need to get two sides together, both central and local government, and have a reallocation of the services they provide. It can't be that agencies in Kingston are better able to serve the people here in this parish," Freckleton said.

Presenters at tomorrow's debate will be Garfield Green, president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and Freckleton.

Some 22 candidates have been nominated for the 11 local government seats across the parish. McLean said that invitations were extended to the political parties to participate in the debate. He said that the Jamaica Labour Party had agreed to participate, while the People's National Party declined.