PDC to bat for Salt Spring and Catadupa divisions
Published:Saturday | July 18, 2020 | 12:07 AM
Western Bureau:
Despite the disqualification of their respective councillors, Montego Bay Mayor Homer Davis says the residents of Salt Spring and Catadupa divisions will not be neglected by the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), which he serves as chairman.
Former councillors Sylvan Reid, who represented Salt Spring division; and Gladstone Bent, who represented the Catadupa division, were disqualified on Thursday, June 11, 2020, after it was revealed that they failed to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the corporation without approval as stipulated under Section 30 (1) (b) of the Local Governance Act.
According to Davis, instructions have been given for the Parish Development Committee (PDC), which operates under the umbrella of the Ministry of Local Government, to meet with community groups in the affected divisions with a view to ascertaining their needs and to ensuring that they benefit from whatever projects and programmes that are in place to help them.
“Support for the divisions does not have to come from or through a political representative,” explained Davis. “The Ministry of Local Government has agencies such as the CDC [Community Development Committee] and the Social Development Commission, which are tasked with the responsibility of creating and implementing programmes to meet the needs of citizens, and, therefore, the time is perfect for them to get totally involved in Salt Spring and Catadupa,” the mayor said.
Projects to be discussed
Projects started by the former councillors are unlikely to be scrapped as according to Davis, the PDC has been instructed to meet with all the stakeholders, including the StJMC to get updates on projects that were being undertaken in the two divisions as well as those due for implementation.
“These projects are funded by the St James Municipal Corporation and the Ministry of Local Government, and it is important for them to continue. The citizens of the divisions deserve them, and despite their local-government representative being disqualified, there should be no disruption,” said Davis.
People’s National Party (PNP) supporters in Salt Spring recently staged a demonstration demanding that the StJMC reinstate Reid, who was elected councillor twice on the PNP’s ticket. The Jamaica Labour Party is the majority party in the corporation.
The demonstrators also expressed fears that projects earmarked for their communities would be discontinued as the disqualification of Reid had left them without elected representation.
The PDC is a non-partisan community-based organisation that operates under the Local Governance Act.