Local Government

The Barbuda Council

The Barbuda Council runs the internal affairs of their own community on a day-to-day basis and this right was established in 1976 by the Barbuda Local Government Act which recognised Barbudans intention for self-determination and sustainability through communal land, and with autonomy from Antigua. 

The Act provided for a local Council of 11 members. Nine members are elected by the registered voters of Barbuda, with the Parliamentary Representative (MP) currently Trevor Walker, and a Senator, who is nominated by the Council, as ex-officio members. The Councillors serve for four years with elections held every two years in March when four seats and five seats becoming vacant at alternate polls.

The Council administers and regulates the important decisions of every day life on Barbuda including agriculture, forestry, public health, public utilities and roads as exclusive powers. It raises and collects it’s own revenue and taxes to meet expenses incurred in the performance of its functions, including the training and employment of local people in its various departments. The Council represents the people of Barbuda who work in the various departments and as such face daily challenges that come with island life: lack of infrastructure due to indifference from government on Antigua, legal action to protect Barbudan resources from exploitation, and costly transportation difficulties between the two islands to do almost anything at all. 

The Barbuda Council has five committees covering  Finance. Works, Utilities and General Purposes, Health, Social Welfare and Disaster, Tourism, Culture,Sports and Youth Affairs, and Agriculture & Lands incl. Forestry, Fisheries, Coastal/Marine Protection.

MP for Barbuda – The Hon. Mr Trevor Walker

Chair of Council  – Mr John Mussington