Hillsborough, May 18th- Senator the Hon. George Prime , Minister for Carriacou & Petite Martinique Affairs w as among five hundred and fifty delegates from forty-eight countries , who met in Freeport , Bahamas , from May 11th-14th on the occasion of the fifth Commonwealth Local Government Conference and General Meeting of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF). His attendance at the conference, hosted by the Government of the Bahamas, was critical, as the Grenada government seeks to implement the constitutional provisions for local government for the people of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The four day conference looked at a broad range of issues including identifying resources for local government during global recession, strengthening local leadership, governance and finances, strategic partnership to improve local services, and effective local government in small states. In delivering an address on improving local government, Hon. Robert Montague, Minister of State for Local Government in, Jamaica and Head of the Caribbean Local Government Ministers Forum, noted that leaders must be visionary and not allow the global financial crisis to erode gains in local government. He declared that now is the time for countries to realize the significant role that local government plays i n re-energizing the economy. He said there must be shared vision. Other speakers at the conference included Winston Cox, Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank,. who emphasized that the bank will support projects that are sensitive to national circumstances. He says this is in keeping with the bank’s four main operational pillars of democracy, rule of law & security, public management and state society. The keynote address , at the close of the conference , was delivered by Prime Minister of Jamaica and CLGF Patron , Hon. Bruce Golding , focused on improving local government for a more equitable and sustainable future. Prime Minister Golding said in order to facilitate this; there must be a clear legislative and institutional framework, a competent management structure, accountability good service delivery and respect from the politicians for the legitimacy of local government. He also highlighted the need for central government to recognize that citizens must be an integral part of the development process. He called for a “different kind of behaviour” from politicians “as they make the mistake of believing they own the system”. Some of the delegates also had an opportunity to visit a number of capacity building projects in the Grand Bahama, while the others attended a special workshop on using technology to improve local government. Minister Prime had the opportunity to co-chair the working session focused on effective local government in small states. He was accompanied by Public Relations Officer Deanna Isaac. The next Commonwealth Local Government Conference takes place in Wales in 2011.