The House of Assembly (HoA) Committee has agreed that the Constitution should include an enabling provision for District Councils, but that councils should not be instituted automatically across all districts. Photo: VINO/File

The negotiation team, headed by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), right, and which is going to London to seek a new constitution, accepted the Lisa E. Penn-Lettsome (left) position for District Councils but with modifications. Photo: GIS/File

The Committee of Elected Members agreed that a District Council may be established only once statutory activation criteria are satisfied, in accordance with procedures prescribed by law. Photo: VINO/File

The Penn-Lettsome report considered that District Councils could broaden public participation, support community leadership and accountability, and improve delivery of services at the district level, with detailed powers and accountability mechanisms to be set out in legislation developed following full public consultation.

The negotiation team, headed by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) and which is going to London to seek a new constitution, accepted the Penn-Lettsome position with modifications.

The House of Assembly (HoA) Committee agreed that the Constitution should include an enabling provision for District Councils, but that councils should not be instituted automatically across all districts. The Committee of Elected Members agreed that a District Council may be established only once statutory activation criteria are satisfied, in accordance with procedures prescribed by law.

Rationale of elected members

Elected Members highlighted the recurring difficulty of identifying, prioritising, and addressing local needs through a centralised administrative system, particularly where service delivery challenges are specific to a community and require sustained local attention.

Members of the HoA also recognised that governance needs and administrative capacity differ across the Virgin Islands, so a single mandatory model imposed uniformly could generate uneven outcomes and unintended burdens.

Against that backdrop, Elected Members accepted local government as an enabling mechanism rather than a compulsory restructuring. They considered that a District Council framework could provide a structured channel for local input, and a clearer line of accountability for community-specific priorities in districts would be beneficial.

The emphasis, however, was that adoption should be driven by district-level readiness and consent through an activation process prescribed by law, rather than by automatic constitutional operation.

Members of the HoA, in their own report and position for negotiation, also preferred legislation as the place to settle the operational design, because the effectiveness of District Councils depends on detailed choices that are difficult to constitutionalise well.

They specifically pointed to the need for flexibility to define functions, powers, activation criteria, support arrangements, financing and oversight, and to refine the model over time in light of experience and continuing consultation.