RETIRED politician Pearnel Charles Sr, who served as Cabinet minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives, recently urged councillors on both sides of the political divide to work together and ensure they put the people first.

Charles was speaking at a meeting of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) in downtown Kingston, where he was among a number of former politicians who were specially recognised for their contributions to the nation.

Recognised along with Charles were former Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller; former Member of Parliament Emerson Barrett; former councillors Charles Michael Douglas Graham, Lisa Holt and Karlene Kirlew-Robertson.

Simpson-Miller was recognised for her championing of community development and grassroots engagement; Charles Sr for tireless work in improving governance and social empowerment; Graham for his dedication to improving local services and the lives of residents; and Holt for being an advocate for education and opportunities for under-served communities. Kirlew-Robertson, meanwhile, was recognised for her commitment to sustainability and community programmes.

Said Charles Sr: “You should work together; this PNP and JLP thing where one sit over deh suh and that one naa talk to the other is foolishness. People must come first. Although you have been elected and promise to do well, I don’t think that all of you have recognised who you are and what you are to do. It is not just that you win an election. To become a councillor it means everything. When I hear Rosalie Hamilton making noise I said you have to defend the poor.”

When Charles denounced malice between politicians on both sides of the fence, a female councillor shouted out inside the Marcus Garvey Council Chamber that some members of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) were guilty of not wanting to talk to other members of the party.

In November, it appeared that a rift was brewing in the JLP when Hamilton, the party’s councillor for the Rae Town Division in Kingston Central, accused some JLP Members of Parliament of being disrespectful to the people who elected them. She said that that the level of neglect was so significant that it stood the chance of damaging the party’s chances in the next general elections. The Rae Town councillor said that some MPs failed to treat others with respect and said that some of her colleagues were mere opportunists.

Charles urged councillors to focus on the things that really mattered, which was to ensure the people were being served.

“For many of you here, this is the start of something great. No councillor should be a councillor if you have a division where children are playing on the street. It is your job to find out who the mumma and puppa are and to say, ‘you must go to school’. Don’t forget the elderly. Every government, PNP and JLP, have made provisions for the elderly and it is the councillors job to get it done.”