Latin America and the Caribbean: Guyana: Caribbean Conference on Decentralisation and Local Government
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From June 25-28, 2002 NDI, CALGA, GALA, UG and UWI hosted a Caribbean Conference in Guyana on Decentralisation and Local Government in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The objectives of the conference were to discuss practical experiences and issues of local government decentralisation in the Caribbean, examine and discuss benefits of, trends in and challenges to local government decentralisation in the Caribbean, and develop guidelines that foster the local government decentralisation process in the Caribbean.
This conference was attended by 120 delegates from 10 Caribbean countries including Ministers of Local Government, representatives of Ministers of Local Government, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Local Government Officers and NGOs working in local government reform and development. The conference focused on wide-ranging local government decentralization issues through country reports, presentations, panel and plenary discussions, workshop sessions and public forums taking into consideration the Caribbean context and realities.
Prior to the conference, a questionnaire designed to measure the extent of decentralization in each country was distributed to the respective countries and was used as the basis for the country report presentations at the conference. NDI analyzed, collated and compiled the responses into one document entitled Analysis of Country Reports. This report contained vital information on the degree of decentralization throughout the Caribbean and was used as a conceptual baseline during the conference proceedings.
At the end of the conference, delegates called on Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to endorse the following resolution:
Participatory democracy as one of the basic tenets for the functioning of local government.
Local government officials are the genuine representatives of the citizens provided that their assumption to office is consistent with democratic practices.
More autonomy should be given to local government to conduct its affairs in the best interest of community and national development.
Gender inclusiveness should be an integral part of local government development to the extent that gender equity is achieved and consistent with United Nations ideals.
Accountability and Transparency are important components of local democracy.
The resolution was intended to inform and guide the development of local government policy in the Caribbean region.
Next Steps
NDI will host the proceedings of the conference on its website. The Institute will also facilitate the publication of selected conference presentations and make them available to all local government bodies throughout the Caribbean. In Guyana copies of the publications will be given to Regional Democratic Councils, Municipalities, Neighborhood Democratic Councils and Community Development Councils. Copies will also be placed in public libraries.
Contact Information
For more information on NDI's this confernence, please contact:
