Local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

exists in two forms, namely second-schedule and third-schedule district councils. There are a total of 32 local government districts: 13 second-schedule districts, which are further sub-divided into town areas, and 19 third-schedule districts, which are all

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

. The second and third schedules together make up the first schedule. Local government policy is formulated and administered by the Department of Lands and Local Government through the Office of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. The day-to-day policy handling of the portfolio falls to the Minister of Local Government who also is empowered to create new

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...

from time to time based on

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

. The administrative and financial management is overseen by the ministry's permanent secretary.

History

Local government previously existed in the Bahamas in the form of appointed "Board of Works". Here towns and villages held their influence over these Board of Works, but almost all final decisions were made by the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

through that islands' Commissioner. The modern system of local government that is in use today was implemented on 8 March 1996. The

Out Islands The Out Islands are the islands that make up the Bahamas with the exception of New Providence Island, where the capital and largest city, Nassau, is located and Grand Bahama Island, where Freeport is located.David Hamilton-Jones, "Problems of In ...

of the country could now enjoy a somewhat greater degree of autonomy, but

New Providence Island New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 24 ...

, in which the capital city

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

is located, was to be directly governed by the central government. The act that implemented local government had described all districts as either being Second-Schedule or Third-Schedule districts. Districts of the Bahamas (Labeled)

Districts of The Bahamas

The Districts of the Bahamas provide a system of

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

everywhere in

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

except New Providence (where

the capital is located, whose affairs are handled directly by the central government). The current system dates from 1996 when 23

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

s were created by

The Bahamas Local Government Act of 1996 The Bahamas Local Government Act of 1996 is a piece of legislation of the Bahamas. In 1996, the Bahamian Parliament passed "The Local Government Act" to facilitate the establishment of Family Island Administrators, Local Government Districts, Loca ...

; a further 9 have been added since 1999. Local Government in The Bahamas has seen great success since its introduction, but there has been concern over the case of New Providence and whether or not it should have local government. * New Providence

Types of Councils

Every district in the Bahamas, with the exception of New Providence, has a district council. A district council is a corporate body with

perpetual succession In company law, perpetual succession is the continuation of a corporation's or other organization's existence despite the death, bankruptcy, insanity, change in membership or an exit from the business of any owner or member, or any transfer of st ...

; capable of entering into contracts, of suing and being sued, of acquiring, holdings, leasing and disposing of property of any description, and of doing all such things and entering into such transactions that are within the scope of the ''Local Government Act.'' District Councillors are elected by the population of that district in accordance with

Local Government Act Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government. The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...

. As stated in

The Bahamas Local Government Act 1996 The Bahamas Local Government Act of 1996 is a piece of legislation of the Bahamas. In 1996, the Bahamian Parliament passed "The Local Government Act" to facilitate the establishment of Family Island Administrators, Local Government Districts, Loca ...

, Districts councillors shall within two weeks of their election, elect from among themselves a Chief Councillor. The Chief Councillor shall be the representative of a Districts Council for all affairs. He or she is to preside over all meetings and also themselves co-ordinate these meetings. All districts councils are classed as first-schedule councils. The first-schedule is further sub-divided into two types of councils: two tier second-schedule district councils that have town committees within their jurisdiction, and

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

third-tier district councils. Second-schedule districts have the following statutory boards and committees: * Road Traffic Licensing Authority * Port and Harbour Authority * Hotel Licensing Board * Liquor and Shop Licensing * Town Planning Committee Town committees are sub-structures of the second-schedule district councils, but are also corporate bodies themselves. They share responsibility with second-schedule district councils for a number of the schedule local government functions. They also have statutory responsibility for local regulation and licensing within their jurisdiction. Third-schedule districts councils are unique within the Bahamas because they combine the responsibilities of the second-schedule districts and of the town committees. Both second- and third-schedule district councils carry out a building control function...

Elections

Local government elections take place once every three years in the Bahamas with the most recent elections taking place on 27 January 2022. The 2020 elections were postponed due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

until Emergency Power Orders were lifted. The voting system used in local government elections is the

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system. Both councillors of third-schedule district councils and members of town committees are directly elected, while members of second-schedule councils are indirectly elected from town committees. Third schedule district councils have between five and nine members, whereas the size of councils in both second-schedule councils and town committees varies according to population size. By elections are held whenever the need arises. A councillor is deemed to have resigned if they are absent for three consecutive meetings. For both types of district councils the

Chief Councillor A Chief Councilor is the highest position within a District Council of the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. ...

s and their deputies are indirectly elected from amongst the elected officials. They serve for the lifetime of the council and the Minister of Local Government determines their

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...

. Second-schedule district councils' statutory boards also elect chairpersons and their deputies from amongst their members.

Major Islands

References

External links

Bahamas.gov.bs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Political Divisions Of The Bahamas Subdivisions of the Bahamas Bahamas, Districts Bahamas 1 Bahamas politics-related lists Bahamas geography-related lists