MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Dr Herbert Thompson, president of Northern Caribbean University (NCU), has urged the people of Manchester not to fall under the control of what he calls ‘area dons’ and ‘strong men’.

“I hope that we can stay ahead of and out of those things, for the parish is not without those who are classifiable as ‘dons’ or known as strong men who would not mind if we got to the place where when they say we should move in a certain direction we would do that,” Thompson told the Manchester Chamber Of Commerce (MCOC) monthly meeting held at the Golf View Hotel last week.

“I hope that the members of this chamber and the rest of us who are citizens of this parish will make a deliberate effort to make it very clear that we are not falling for that kind of nonsense,” he added.

Dr Thompson, a member of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, made his comments in the context of the upcoming local government elections. He spoke of allegations that some people in Manchester were ‘scared’ and ‘intimidated’ into not voting during the September 3 parliamentary Elections – an occurrence which he says must not be repeated.

“When it comes to intimidation, we as yet have no mechanism to monitor it and we have very few mechanisms to prevent it, so I am serving a word of warning because there is on the horizon the parish council elections and we must ensure that people vote for the people of their choice without hindrance or encumbrances,” Thompson declared.

He also announced that a special task force, chaired by him and established by the Ministry of National Security to restructure the Jamaica Constabulary Force, would be arranging town meetings in every parish beginning this month, to hear proposals from the public for the reformation of law enforcement in Jamaica.

“We, the people, are the best judge as to whether or not the police are policing us effectively and therefore during the course of this month of November we will have some parish consultations in which we’re going to say to the people: ‘Tell us what are some of the things you feel we need to consider as we look at the matter of restructuring the constabulary’,” Thompson added.

Manchester Chamber of Commerce president, Winston Lawson, told the meeting that the MCoC had recently purchased a container which would be located at the Mandeville Police station and would serve as the intelligence unit for closed circuit cameras to be placed in and around Mandeville.