Morrison elected Chair of Commonwealth Forum

Basil Morrison, President of Local Government New Zealand, was recently elected Chair of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) until March 2009. The election took place at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda last month.

“I am delighted to have been elected by the Board to lead CLGF and look forward to working with them to further unite the Commonwealth countries through the exchange of ideas on best practice policy development, democracy and governance at a local level,” said Mr Morrison.

The role of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum is to promote and strengthen effective democratic local government throughout the Commonwealth and to facilitate the exchange of good practice in local government structures and services.

It was established in 1995 in response to the Commonwealth shift towards greater decentralisation and local democracy. CLGF is recognized as an official associated Commonwealth organisation representing elected local government.

The CLGF is a membership organisation, bringing together local government stakeholders - local government associations, individual councils and ministries of local government, professional and research organisations - on a common platform. The Board is made up of equal parts between members from country associations and organisations, and government ministers across the four zones – Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Although an autonomous organisation, CLGF has a close working partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and is recognised by the Commonwealth Heads of Government as an associated organisation of elected representatives. CLGF has 170 members in over 40 Commonwealth countries.

ENDS

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