Commercial Services and the Building Committee meetings of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) that should have been held Tuesday and yesterday were cancelled, and future meetings are in doubt, as Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors continued to stay away to register their disgust with Monday’s tear-gassing of Mayor Desmond Mackenzie and other councillors.

The confrontation between the politicians and the police happened Monday, during what the police contended was an illegal march, and the councillors insisted was a walk to deliver 12 letters to Prime Minister PJ Patterson.

Yesterday, PNP councillor Angella Brown-Burke expressed disappointment with councillor’s decision, saying the obligation to the city and people of Kingston was being undermined.

“It is ridiculous and people are now complaining that we are not dealing with the matters expeditiously,” she told the Observer.

“People’s business transactions are suffering because they cannot be done. Moreover, the matter that they are complaining about is political, and should not be embroiled in the work that the council is supposed to do,” she said.

She said that because of the cancellations, matters such as building applications for the development of Kingston as well as issues regarding the road and traffic committee had to postponed.

Mackenzie could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce last night condemned the action of the police, saying it was disproportionate to the threat presented by the mayors and councillors.

“The chamber condemns in the strongest possible terms the action of the police, not because those directly affected hold political office, but because those affected are citizens of Jamaica entitled to be protected and served by the police,” said a statement last night from the trade agency’s president Noel daCosta.