By Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
NEARLY FIVE months after the Local Government elections, all is not well at the St. James Parish Council. It appears that bickering among People's National Party (PNP) councillors and their counterparts from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on how the Council should proceed, is hampering the operations of the Council.
Also, there have been reports of tension between the Council's political directorate and the administrative staff after references were made about some of them, especially in the Bogue Land probe.
COVERING 'SKELETONS'
PNP councillors charge that the JLP dominated council is more interested in uncovering 'skeletons' of the past PNP administration instead of doing the work of the people, a charge denied by JLP councillors. "We from the minority are not convinced that the leadership is addressing the relevant issues that can enhance our people," Donald Colomathi, PNP councillor from the Spring Mount division, told The Gleaner.
He pointed to a recent 'special' council meeting in which three issues were to be discussed. "Two of the issues had to do with the Bogue Land saga and Providence Beach," he stated. "Those things have been out there already. Hence, it is our view that less time should be spent finding skeletons because it is time for us to move forward."
OLD MATTERS A HINDRANCE
However, Heroy Clarke, JLP Councillor for the Montego Bay South East division, said that it is important that old matters be dealt with before the council proceeds. "You have to tidy the kitchen first before you make breakfast," Mr. Clarke told The Gleaner. "In other words, you have to clean what is there before you can start doing anything meaningful."
He said the PNP representatives have been running the Council for such a long time that they want the Council to be run in their own way. "And now they expect us to come and continue in the same light," he noted. "I think the people have given us a mandate and it cannot be business as usual because if that is so, Montego Bay will be going nowhere."
In the wake of the Local Government elections, the Bogue Land probe has been one of the dominant issues in the St. James Parish Council. The probe, which was led by Councillor Charles Sinclair, concluded that there were several instances of gross negligence, impropriety and clear breaches of the law in the handling of the matter. It also accused secretary/manager Christopher Powell and Superintendent of Roads and Works, Tubal Brown, of not "taking any appropriate action to secure, protect, and preserve the asset of the Council."
