A local government question that needs serious discussion
Within the current dispute between St Catherine West Central Member of Parliament Dr Christopher Tufton and Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott over the supply of piped water into the homes of approximately 5,000 residents in seven St Catherine communities is a thought-provoking question raised by Dr Tufton.
For proper context, the dispute was sparked by Dr Tufton’s claim that the St Catherine Municipal Corporation has not fulfilled a more-than-year-old mandate to provide the service under the $125-million Watermount Water Supply System, which is said to have fallen into ruin.
According to Dr Tufton, the parish council collected $7,000 each from many residents in February last year. Yet, to date, those residents have not been connected to the water system.
The upshot, he said, is that the affected residents are blaming the Government when, in fact, their ire should be directed at the municipal corporation.
Mayor Scott, though, has said that some residents have been connected to the water system and work is now being done to provide the service to others who have already paid.
The truth of this matter will, we expect, come to light with further examination. But for now we are giving attention to Dr Tufton’s question regarding how parish council divisions are managed after they become vacant and there is no immediate by-election.
In this case, Dr Tufton reminded us that the Point Hill Division, where the Watermount scheme is located, was represented by Councillor Wesley Suckoo, who died in December 2019.
That, Dr Tufton said, left the management of the division under the control of the mayor. However, Dr Tufton said that since Mr Suckoo’s death “there has been no communication” with himself or his team “on the work that is long overdue”.
“It leaves me to wonder if the people of Watermount and its environs are being deliberately denied access to water on partisan political grounds. Otherwise, this lack of effort represents total incompetence on the part of the municipal authority,” he said.
Politicking aside, the question is very relevant and it gives us reason to reflect on a point we have raised in this space before — the relevance of costly, cumbersome municipal corporations in modern Jamaica.
Instances of incompetence are not uncommon within these municipal corporations. The absolute chaos that is allowed to exist in downtown Kingston and other sections of the Corporate Area is proof of weak and ineffective management.
There is also the constant issue of corruption, brought to greater public light by the 2020 fraud case involving the Manchester Municipal Corporation which led to severe penalties, including imprisonment for some employees.
Jamaicans will vote in local government elections in another 12 days, but regardless of which party is triumphant, questions about the value, credibility, and relevance of the municipalities, as currently structured, won’t go away.
With each demonstration of incompetence and corruption we are more accommodating of the possibility of establishing a system of tightly structured administrative offices in parish capitals catering to the needs of people at the local level and which report to Parliament.
That could be more suitable, given modern realities.
It’s a discussion we need to have.