THE People’s National Party’s (PNP) Andrew Swaby, councillor of the Vineyard Town Division, was sworn in on Tuesday as the new mayor of the Kingston, in a ceremony that was marred by a brawl by supporters of the two major political parties outside

Swaby has been a senior spokesman for the party in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) since 1998 when he was first elected as the representative for the Vineyard Town Division.

Following that swearing-in of Swaby, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Delroy Williams, councillor of the Seivwright Gardens Division, was sworn in as deputy mayor.

Both the PNP and JLP got 20 seats each in the February 26 local government elections, but the party with more votes is given the mayorship and the other party the deputy mayor. Both councillors recalled their friendship over the years and their dedication to continue working together for improvements to the council.

The swearing-in attracted a large number of political standard-bearers, including Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie; PNP President and Opposition Leader Mark Golding; Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson; and former mayor of the KSAMC Dr Angela Brown Burke, the Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Western. The event also attracted a number of visitors who sat in the gallery.

However, dozens of JLP and PNP supporters gathered on Church Street in front of the council put on a shameful display, using chairs, stones and other weapons against each other in a nasty brawl. Damage was done to plastic chairs placed under a tent to accommodate party supporters.

Some individuals claimed that police did not do enough to control the unruly party supporters.

Inside the KSAMC building, however, camaraderie and speeches praising each other from both sides of the council were the order of the day, evidencing that there was an opportunity to reduce the tension outside if both sides, dressed in their party colours, were willing to cooperate with the police and fill up space beneath the huge tent which completely blocked the road and was occupied by mostly by quarrelsome PNP and JLP supporters.

Fortunately, Mayor Swaby’s call for increased cooperation between both sides suggested new interventions to improve the machinery for approving building and construction projects.

Swaby also suggested the quarterly meetings of the council with residents of Kingston and St Andrew to discuss the various issues necessary to improve the lot of the various communities.

He added: “The Administration is committed to holding quarterly press conferences, where the CEO and myself will provide updates on the various activities being undertaken by the KSAMC.”

Swaby said, too, that the KSAMC will embark on a campaign to further educate the public on the nature of building and town planning laws, and his Administration will hold themselves accountable to the people they serve, and ensure that all buildings in the future will be built with the highest structural integrity.

Chairman of the meeting was CEO of the KSAMC Robert Hill.