KINGSTON, Jamaica — Acting Mayor of Portmore, Councillor Leon Thomas, has not only had his actions in breach of the Municipalities Act validated, but he and the Portmore Municipal Council have been indemnified against any court action for those breaches.

The House of Representatives voted Tuesday (July 15) in favour of the Municipalities (Validation and Amendment) Act which not only validates and indemnifies the acting Mayor and the Council against any court action for breaching the Act, but protects them until new elections are held. It has also paved the way for two Portmore Councillors who could not be sworn in since March 2012, because a portion of their divisions were outside of Portmore, to be sworn.

Minister of Local Government, Noel Arscott, who piloted the Bill, got strong backing from St. Catherine government MPs Fitz Jackson and Arnaldo Brown (East Central), and equally strong disapproval from West Kingston MP and Opposition spokesman on local government, Desmond McKenzie, before the Bill was passed.

The vacancy in the council was created by the death of former mayor George Lee last September. Thomas started acting as mayor last October but, according to the Bill, his appointment was not entered into the minutes of the Portmore Council until January 8, which meant that his six-month tenure should have ended on July 8.

The Bill was tabled on July 8, and the government was hoping that it could have been passed then. However, after Opposition members of Parliament objected, on the basis that they needed time to digest the contents of the Bill, the debate was postponed to yesterday.

Balford Henry