KINGSTON, Jamaica — Members of the Minority Caucus of Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) have resigned from the Building and Planning Committee due to what they call a lack of integrity, transparency and efficacy with which the current administration is operating.

In a letter to Mayor Delroy Williams on Tuesday, the Minority Caucus of the KSAMC expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of consideration by the mayor with regards to recommendations made by the Opposition.

It also appealed to the leadership of the KSAMC to take steps to prevent a further decline in public confidence in its operations.

The letter noted a particular event in which Chairman of the Minority Caucus of KSAMC, Councillor Andrew Swaby, on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, submitted a resolution to be placed on the Order Paper for the Council Meeting to be held, January 11. Noting that the resolution contained suggestions from the Opposition with possible solutions to improve the operations of building and planning departments of the KSAMC, the group said: “Surprisingly, but not uncharacteristically, the resolution was not taken and has not been put on the Order Paper for today’s meeting.” 

The Opposition expressed concern that the current administration is not taking recent court rulings and allegations of corruption seriously, which have placed the Building and Planning Committee of the KSAMC under a microscope.

“The refusal by the mayor to take the resolution is indicative of this administration’s lack of regard for due process and for the citizens of Jamaica,” the Opposition said.

It added that several recommendations have been made by the Opposition to put these issues to rest.

“We believe that our proposals would have greatly assisted in preventing the recurrence of some of these serious issues,” said Councillor Swaby.