KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government Senator, Abka Fitz-Henley, has cautioned Mayor of Kingston and St Andrew, Andrew Swaby, against attempting to strong-arm media entities and influence their reporting on critical matters following his announcement that nine media houses have been flagged for outstanding advertising fees to the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).

Fitz-Henley, in a statement on Thursday, said: “While every Jamaican should be encouraged to meet their obligations to municipal corporations and other relevant authorities, the timing and tone of Swaby’s announcements and his warning of further action against the media are curious”.

According to Fitz-Henley, Swaby’s announcement came after a major development in the alleged People’s National Party (PNP)/KSAMC corruption scandal, which he said has been featured prominently in some media reports.

“The latest development in the intensifying scandal concerns a revelation by a former PNP insider, who blew the lid off via a formal statement to MOCA [the Major Organized Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency], exposing the allegedly corrupt use of taxpayers’ money allocated to the KSAMC to fund the political activities of PNP candidates,” the senator said.

“Andrew Swaby should be careful that his warning of sending a strong signal to the media is interpreted as an attempt to suppress reporting of the PNP/KSAMC corruption scandal. His announcement about sending a strong signal to media and warning of taking further actions are unusual, and curiously timed, and as such, should concern every Jamaican who has observed the PNP’s record of adversarial and antagonistic actions which have negatively affected Jamaica on the World Press Freedom Index,” he continued.

READ: Nine media houses in KSAMC’s crosshairs