Registration for Local Government Junior Council took place in schools throughout Grand Bahama on Friday, September 20, 2024, which was the final day for registration.
Eight Mile Rock High School, Sister Mary Patricia Junior High School, Jack Hayward High, St. George’s High, Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic School, Bishop Michael Eldon High and Grand Bahama Academy of Seventh Day Adventists are the seven schools in Grand Bahama that will be participating in this year’s elections.
With the Eight Mile Rock Blue Jays taking home the prize for best overall council last year, and the Sister Mary Patricia Junior High School taking third place overall, excitement among teachers and students at the seven schools in Grand Bahama were high, as excited and eager students from grades seven through twelve lined up to register to vote in their respective schools.
Kenwood Cartwright, Family Island Administrator for the City of Freeport says that the program has been a great success in Grand Bahama, and some beneficial projects have been carried out not just in the schools, but in some surrounding communities.
“This program is a feeder program into the Senior Local Government Councilors,” Cartwright noted, while visiting some of the school’s registration process on Friday. “We try to follow the full election process and so at this stage, the students are taking the oath and registering as voters.
“The poll workers and Registration workers were trained by the Parliamentary Department.”
Cartwright pointed out that the process will give students a glimpse into the political and election processes of the country. He noted that Nomination Day for Junior Council candidates will be held October 2, after which time candidates will then begin a campaign within their respective schools, with hopes of being elected on October 17, election day.
Each registered voter will be issued a voter’s card, which has been designed by the Parliamentary Department, with information about the student, along with a photo. These voter’s cards will have to be presented for students to vote.
Elected Junior Councilors will be charged with carrying out various projects, which may have been a part of their campaign promises. According to Administrator Cartwright, each school Council will be provided a set amount of money from Local Government to fund the Councils’ projects.
These projects will not be limited to just the school campuses, according to Mr. Cartwright, but can extend beyond the campuses and into the community.
“Unlike Senior Local Government Councils, these Junior Councils will be allowed to do some fundraising to further assist with the projects they pursue,” Cartwright added.
“We cannot carry out a successful Junior Local Government process without our partners who have assisted us, like the Parliamentary Department, the Bahamas Police Force, the staff at the Department of Local Government and the Coordinators and Administration at the various schools.”
Consultant to Local Government for the Northern Bahamas, Alexander Williams said the Local Government Junior Council program was started years ago in The Bahamas, and at the time was limited only to Government Schools. However, he pointed out that more recently several private schools have joined.
“Local government, as we see it, is the spawning ground for leadership,” said Mr. Williams. “It is a program that will help to develop students to understand how the government works, how free and fair elections are done, and it will give them an appreciation and respect for democracy.”
Some of the projects launched last year by junior councils in Grand Bahama included the building of gazebos, the establishment of food pantries, refurbished classrooms, beautification projects, purchasing of computers for computer labs, obtaining sports gear for school teams, or farming equipment. Community projects were also a part of some of the Council’s contributions, inclusive of beach cleanups, partnering with churches in feeding programs, and the building or refurbishment of entry signs for different communities.
By ANDREW COAKLEY/Bahamas Information Services
