For administrative purposes St. Lucia is divided into 11 quarters positioned below the central government. Local authorities within these 11 quarters are divided into different types; the council of the capital city of Castries, three town- and six village councils. These councils form the main local government institutions in the quarters. City, town and village councils have been appointed by Central Government ever since local elections were postponed in 1979. The responsibility for the appointment of council members falls under the Ministry of Physical Development, Housing, Urban Renewal and Local Government. National elections were most recently held in 2006 and the next election is planned for 2011. There have been extensive and positive community consultations, and preparatory work undertaken to restore elected local government, but there has been no formal Act passed to date. The hope is present that restoration of elected local government will return to the agenda again after the next elections.
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Local government in Saint Lucia is founded upon the Constitution of 1979 which makes reference to local government. The Constitution however does not specify how local government should be organized. The Labours Party’s Election Manifesto in the mid nineties saw a refocus on local government aiming at ‘deepening the the structures of democracy in St. Lucia’. It took until 2000 when a Green Paper on Local Government was issued. It outlined the importance of citizen participation and devolvement of functions to local authorities but a subsequent White Paper and/or local government legislation was not drafted.
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Local government remained a priority when the current government formed a Task Force for the Reform of Local Government in 2006. The Ministry provided for seminars and workshops in which awareness on local government was raised. Councilors received a better understanding of the responsibilities and expectations connected to local government. The formation of the Task Force and the establishment of several new local governments in 2008 and a local government workshop on conflict resolution on the local level in 2010 are the most recent developments in the sphere of local government.
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