By Kimone Witter
Entrenching fixed election dates for Local Government in the Constitution and enacting legislation for the direct election of mayors across all municipal corporations are among the commitments being put forward by the People's National Party.
The pledges are included in the PNP's policy priorities for 2024 Local Government, released today.
The People's National Party manifesto begins with a list of achievements in the Local Government reform process, including the passage of the Constitution Amendment Local Government Act 2015.
The PNP then goes on to set out how it will achieve participatory democracy through six broad areas in health, security, governance, the environment, the economy and social services.
Under Community Development and Citizen Security, crime and violence will be treated as a public health issue and will involve a multi-faceted approach that will target antisocial behaviour and violent crime at the local level.
The PNP also plans to expand the Jamaica Eye Infrastructure to cover strategic points across local communities.
Moving to Healthy Citizens and Healthy Communities, the PNP intends to reinstate the Public board of health within the operational responsibility of Municipal Corporations and implement comprehensive health education programmes at the community level.
To ensure accessibility and accountability, mayors and CEOs will be mandated to host quarterly briefings to update citizens on council activities and publicise representation for the maintenance and repair of roads, drains, garbage collection and public cleansing.
The municipal corporations will also be mandated to publish their annual budgets and develop and publish performance measurement indicators.
The PNP says its New Vision for Local Governance will include the promulgation of regulations for the Local Governance Act 2016 and a full review of the Act.
Municipal Corporations will also be empowered to provide services at higher standards, focusing on garbage collection, community road maintenance, car parks, public parks, drain cleaning and public health.
The party also plans to have the National Solid Waste Management Authority revert to its core function as a regulator of solid waste services and enforcer of solid waste disposal laws
Finally, the PNP says it intends to establish economic models for success and entertainment regulation.
This will involve establishing community entertainment zones; introducing new regulations to govern street food services, vending, barbers and cosmetologists and more, as well as simplifying the procedure for obtaining permits.
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