As part of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II is officially the head of state in Antigua and Barbuda. A national bi-cameral parliament is responsible for the government of the federal constitutional monarchy, which gained its independence in 1981. The Constitution originates from that same year and provides for an administrative division of the country into several parishes of which there are six on the island of Antigua. Barbuda has its own council which is governed by Barbuda Local Government Act (1978) , the uninhabited island of Redonda is a dependency. The local council of Barbuda corresponds with the 10 members who also take place in the national assembly. Nine council members are elected on a two year basis most recently in 2009 and planned to take place in 2011, one member is appointed. There are twenty-nine community councils in Antigua. Elections are held every five years. The community councils on Antigua have 9 members, 4 appointed by central government and 5 elected.
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The parishes of Antigua are in place solely for administrative purposes . Local parish councils administer and regulate agriculture, forestry, public health, public utilities, and roads. They also raise and collect revenue to meet expenses incurred in the performance of its functions. Besides the 1976 Barbuda Local Government Act no further legislation exists that empowers localities.
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Due to lack of any structured local government authorities, development of localities takes place through various ministries and individual projects from national government. Cooperation with local residents is taking place in the fields of agricultural development, tourism and local businesses. Community development is a direct responsibility of the Ministry of Home affairs, Youth Empowerment and Information, under which local government falls.
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