LUCEA, Hanover – The People’s National Party members of the Hanover Parish Council have aborted their efforts to have Lucea mayor Lester Crooks (JLP) removed from office. But they have made it clear that they still have major concerns about the lack of transparency at the local authority.

In June, councillor for the Sandy Bay Division and former mayor Lloyd Hill gave notice that he would table a motion to move a no-confidence vote in Crooks. The motion, which was seconded by councillor for the Green Island division, Frederick Miller (PNP), had arisen out of concerns about the transfer of $56,000 that had been earmarked for purchasing water for drought-stricken areas. The water was eventually used on the parish Labour Day project – the rehabilitation of the Willie Delliser Boulevard in Lucea – though the council had not approved the transfer of funds.

In June, Mayor Crooks admitted that he might have erred in using the money without the necessary approval, but was adamant that the act was not “tantamount to misappropriation of funds”, a term which was being bandied about during the meeting.

The tabling of the no-confidence motion was then set for the next regular monthly council meeting in July.

At that meeting, with a council chamber packed with political activists from both major political parties, and tension riding high in the room, councillor Hill failed to show. Instead, a message was delivered at the meeting that he had urgent family matters to which he had to attend.

After some anxious moments, it was decided to defer the matter to the September meeting of the council, as there would be no meeting in August.

But with the pending arrival of Hurricane Ivan last weekend, an abbreviated version of the monthly council meeting was held on Thursday, September 9. During the meeting, a motion to suspend all other matters on the agenda was moved, in order to deal solely with the issue of the no-confidence motion.

Councillor Hill declared then that he was withdrawing the notice to table a no-confidence resolution against the mayor, adding that he had arrived at the decision after consultation with the other councillors. He was emphatic, however, that councillors still have some concerns about transparency within the council and would be monitoring the situation very closely.