KINGSTON, Jamaica — The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is rejecting a move by Mayor of Kingston and St Andrew Andrew Swaby to appoint an advisory committee to the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), which it said, is a move to distract from serious questions yet to be answered by the mayor into allegations of corruption at the KSAMC.

The party’s spokesperson Senator Marlon Morgan in a statement on Thursday, said the announcement of the committee is a clear attempt to deceive the people of Jamaica into believing that the KSAMC under Swaby’s leadership is serious about principles of transparency and accountability.

Morgan in the statement called for Swaby to answer several questions including:

• Is he aware that senior members of his administrative team have been vetting the political affiliation of residents in the Corporate Area before deciding whether to offer assistance from the coffers of the KSAMC?

• What effective action has he taken to address the aforementioned victimisation, which has been confirmed in conversations that have leaked on social media?

• Did PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell speak the truth when, on December 22 last year, he told then PNP caretaker for Kingston Central , Lawrence Rowe, that the KSAMC is sending monies to PNP caretakers on a strategic basis?

• Does Mayor Swaby view the arrangement referred to by Dr Campbell in the leaked audio as corrupt?

• What did Mayor Swaby mean when he was heard in leaked audio saying he has spent monies “far and wide” to “grill-up” and “gel-up di ting” to ensure the PNP wins constituencies in the Corporate Area?

• Can he confirm that dozens of PNP caretakers visited the premises of the KSAMC in December last year and collected money from
the corporation to further their campaign activities? Was he aware of this, and what did he do about it?

• Why did his administrative staffer tell a PNP caretaker that the money collected is not for public knowledge?

• Were monies from the KSAMC used to support Labour Day 2024 activities by PNP caretakers?

Morgan also renewed a call by the party for the resignation of Swaby and General Secretary of the People’s National Party (PNP) Dayton Campbell.

“The Jamaica Labour Party renews its call for Mayor Swaby and Dr Campbell to resign due to the PNP/KSAMC Corruption Scandal. Jamaicans will not be fooled by the PNP’s usual tactic of setting up committees and using buzzwords such as transparency and accountability when faced with scandals. Both Swaby and Campbell must go,” Morgan said.