Economy of Scotts Head Village

citizens are involved effectively in the planning, implementing and evaluating of matters that affect their well being. It is in this context that a Local Governmental system which provides valuable opportunities for popular participation and responsibility to Local Authorities for local development management is seen as being significant to the development of Dominica.

This booklet describes this system of centralized governmental arrangement in Dominica by explaining the nature of Local Government on the whole and the origin and function of each type of Local Authority. It is expected that this information will help deepen the understanding of the Local Government System in the island.

Local Government forms part of a larger policy of decentralization. Decentralization itself can take many forms. While there ha been some dispute about forms of decentralization recently Hulme et al (1997) posits that the most common form of decentralization is:

De concentration

Devolution

Privatization

Local Government emanates from the second form of decentralization. Devolution in its purist sense has been described as the ideal form of decentralization. According to Hulme et al (1997) it is seen as the ideal form of decentralization because it combines the promise of local democracy with technical efficiency. Local Government provides opportunities at the local level for people to serve their community in leadership positions as well as provide opportunities for people to elect their local leadership. On the other hand, Local Government allows development programmes and projects to be fitted to local environments and people’s needs. People participate in the identification, planning, implementation and management of development activities. Development activities, therefore, can be