Village councils in Antigua and Barbuda are local government bodies responsible for the administration of the villages on the Island of Antigua. Village councils are responsible for the delivery of public services, such as waste management, road maintenance, and community development projects, to the residents of the village. Village councils are also responsible for collecting taxes and fees from residents, as well as for creating and enforcing local by-laws and regulations. The members of the village councils are elected by the residents of the village, and they serve a specified term of office. The village councils work in collaboration with the national government of Antigua and Barbuda to ensure the effective delivery of services to the communities they serve.

A system of village councils was created by the Village Councils Act (1945).[1]

History

Ivor Heath, the UNDP's head, vowed to decentralize the government in the 1980s if his group were to win power. In order to provide communities a kind of local government and more responsibility over their own concerns, he specifically suggested a system of village councils. Only Barbuda had local self-government in the late 1980s; the other communities were governed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.[2]

All village councils are currently inactive in Antigua and Barbuda, and the current Prime Minister Gaston Browne has expressed opposition to the reestablishment of Village councils.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "The Village Councils Act" (PDF). 16 June 1945. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  2. ↑ "Antigua and Barbuda Political Dynamics - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System". photius.com. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  3. ↑ jennelsa.johnson (2020-03-12). "The political Neanderthal". Antigua Observer Newspaper. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
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