KINGSTON, Jamaica- The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has called for the resignation of Andrew Swaby as mayor of Kingston and chairman of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).

The call was made during a media conference held at the Jamaica Labour Party’s Belmont Road headquarters on Monday,  and comes as the People’s National Party (PNP) /KSAMC alleged corruption scandal continues to deepen.

During the media conference, Jamaica Labour Party Communication Taskforce Spokesman, Senator Marlon Morgan, revealed that on October 30, 2024 at 11:24 a.m., a senior administrative staffer who works closely with Mayor Swaby’s team at the KSAMC, instructed a PNP caretaker to find out whether several individuals in central Kingston are PNP or JLP supporters before deciding whether to accept a request from the individuals for assistance and paid work from the KSAMC.

A decision was made to offer assistance and work to the individuals when the PNP caretaker confirmed to Mayor Swaby’s team that they were in fact PNP supporters.

Senator Morgan told the media conference “The emerging information contradicts and confirms as misleading and false assertions by Mayor Swaby that the KSAMC has been distributing access to assistance and benefits to people on a non-partisan and fair basis and governed by principles of transparency. The mayor misled a recent meeting of the KSAMC and Jamaica when he insisted that the KSAMC has not been distributing resources in a vulgar and partisan manner.”

Senator Morgan also rejected as lacking credibility Mayor Swaby’s denial that funds distributed by his team on the compound of the KSAMC to PNP caretakers were privately raised.

Senator Morgan added “In light of the conflicting statements issued by Mayor Swaby and the leaked audio of conversations which have given rise to the PNP/KSAMC corruption scandal, the Jamaica Labour Party calls for the immediate resignation of Andrew Swaby as mayor of Kingston and chairman of the KSAMC. We do not believe that Swaby can be trusted to govern the affairs of the KSAMC in a fair, equitable and transparent manner.”

“We welcome word that at least three law enforcement agencies are reviewing information concerning the PNP/KSAMC corruption scandal. It is not far-fetched to imagine that such a review would naturally include a review of the leaked conversations and exported WhatsApp chats where PNP officials, including Dr Dayton Campbell, Andrew Swaby and other senior PNP politicians, were discussing the use of resources in December of 2024 and issues which have culminated this year in a scandal,” said Morgan.

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