JLP says PNP using water issue to distract from financial irregularities at KSAMC

Deputy Mayor of Kingston, Delroy Williams, is accusing the People's National Party (PNP) of attempting to use the issue of water quality in the Corporate Area as a smokescreen to distract from alleged financial irregularities at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).

During a meeting of the KSAMC on Tuesday, PNP spokesperson and councillor for the Trafalgar division, Jesse James Clarke, brought a resolution calling for potable water in Kingston and St Andrew, following up on his claim last month that some water distributed for domestic use contained faecal matter.

The move led to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor John Myers storming out of the meeting after he was not allowed to complete a point of order opposing the motion. In a media release on Wednesday, Williams said Clarke's resolution was "nothing more than a political distraction on the part of the PNP-led administration."

"We are approaching two quarters without any financial reports on expenses being provided by Mayor [Andrew] Swaby and his administration. Given the many reports of financial misappropriation and the resignation of Councillor Dennis Gordon as Chairman of the Finance Committee, it is imperative that the councillors are provided with the expense reports, which for approximately six months have been inaccessible," Williams stated.

He said Myers walked out of the meeting on Tuesday after expressing his impatience with the prolonged period of waiting for the reports while priority is being given to the resolution by Clarke.

Williams said he hopes that the newly established Financial Advisory Team, appointed by the KSAMC recently, will join the JLP caucus in calling for the presentation of the outstanding financial reports, which concern Mayor Swaby’s tenure.

He also chided Clarke for bringing Tuesday's resolution "despite the competent authorities providing clarity on numerous occasions."

Williams said Clarke was using data from source testing to make pronouncements regarding water along the distribution network, despite many attempts from the National Water Commission (NWC) and the Ministry of Health to clarify the matter.

"The misunderstanding and misinformation of Councillor Clarke, at this point, is proving to be a much larger contaminant of the city’s water than any bacteria, virus, or parasite," Williams said.

Yesterday, in response to public concerns, the Ministry of Health and Wellness confirmed that some water samples from the NWC's systems had tested positive for E. coli, but assured the public that there was no immediate health risk and no boil water advisory was necessary.

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