Dear Editor,

Recently I was in the process of searching the Web to get some information on the proceedings at the St Mary Parish Council, such as minutes and key happenings in the parish over the past months. I was shocked to see that information on the recent flood events and other key happenings in the parish were not shared on the council’s web page.

The lack of information on the St Mary Parish Council’s website (updated last on May 28, 2014) led me to a further search of the web pages of other councils and I have now found out that the updating of councils’ web pages across the island is not done frequently enough, especially in the rural parishes (St Thomas, Portland, Hanover). There are however some exceptions such as the KSAC and St Elizabeth.

It was this lack of information that led me to the conclusion that the parish councils in Jamaica are not tapping into the vast potential that the Internet and social media offers to interact with their local population.

Councils’ web pages are to be updated frequently. Not only is this frequent update of the councils’ web pages integral to them reaching their population by highlighting and listing the projects undertaken and being undertaken, but it is also a key medium that should be used to give the public access to information, which is a mark of a transparent local government body.

In this century, where the Internet is the major information highway, our local government machineries cannot be stalling and behaving as if they are climbing Mount Rosser. If there is presently no one at the council to update and upgrade the system, there are a number of tech savvy individuals in the parish to take care of such. Also, the use of Facebook and Twitter cannot be overstated.

In their drive to get younger people involved in the political process the authorities should move in the direction the youths and the wider population is now taking. Current Facebook pages of various councils across the island barely have 300 likes. That is appalling to me as a young man. Facebook offers a medium from which the voice of the population of the various constituencies can be heard. And if it is used effectively, the participatory governance that is much sought after can be realised. I hope the local authorities will look into these suggestions as they strengthen their thrust to a more transparent, people-oriented governance authority.

Maurice Mills

millsmaurice08@gmail.com