KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie, has expressed great sadness at the passing of Councillor Cleon Francis, the elected representative for the Knockpatrick Division of the Manchester Municipal Corporation.

Councillor Francis died on Friday after ailing for some time.

“This is just a great tragedy. Cleon fell ill about three weeks ago, the day after Father’s Day, and was hospitalised first in Mandeville, then in Kingston. While the situation was serious, he was showing signs of improvement. His passing is therefore a shock as well as a bitter loss to us in the local government fraternity,” McKenzie said in a release.

“Cleon Francis first won the Knockpatrick Division on the Jamaica Labour Party ticket in the Local Government elections of 2012, against the tide of electoral fortune at that time. His victory, with just over 52 per cent of the vote, made him the lone JLP Councillor of the four in Central Manchester,” he added.

“By the time of the Local Government elections in 2016, he had increased his victory margin, and earned the love, trust and respect of the people of the Division and beyond. In his ten years of service, his reputation as a diligent and hard-working Councillor grew, and his record of implementing projects in the Knockpatrick Division is now his enduring legacy.”

McKenzie used the opportunity to offer condolences to the family of the late Councillor including his wife and children, his mother and sisters.

“His energy and dedication will be sorely missed by all of us. While we try to cope with the void he has left, I believe that all of us who knew him will be comforted by the fact that he made a positive impact, and is now in the arms of the Almighty,” the Minister’s statement said.