MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

?A Town Council is not a Constitutional matter'

A discussion as to whether the Falklands should reinstate its long defunct Town Council and a Lord Mayor, continues to reverberate around the Islands.

During a public meeting in the capital Port Stanley, Councillor Mike Summers told the audience that ?A Town Council is not a Constitutional matter', despite hopes by some members of the community that the current Constitutional revision might make provision for a return of the Town Council which previously took on board matters which now are discussed by the influential Executive Council.

Meanwhile the discussion over the number of elected Councillors which will sit on the Legislature in the future, and in particular whether there should be just one constituency, as opposed to the present Stanley and Camp constituencies ? 5 and 3 members respectively ? continues within the Islands. Councillor Summers assured the public that ?all ideas and proposals are on the table for discussion and a set of recommendations will be produced for public discussion'. However it is not anticipated that the new Constitution will be in place in time for the forthcoming General Election in the Islands which is scheduled for November.

The cost of a massive new Head Quarters building for the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF), an army of around 40 Islands men and women who are trained in military warfare, has come in for considerable criticism from many Islanders. The previous Head Quarters building has been removed to make way for an extension to the Infant and Junior School in Port Stanley. During the public meeting elected Councillors said that they were unable to state what the cost of the new Head Quarters will be until the completion of the contract, although one member of the public insisted that the current cost is £1.3 millions sterling ($US1.75 millions) and rising. There has been criticism over the installation of a bar within the building and over the size of a Parade ground, which one British Military officer said was more in line for a Battalion of 500 men, not 30-40. Councillors refuted suggestions that the erection of an ammunition bunker was an ?add on' to the original plans, saying that there had always been provision for this necessary facility.