COUNCILLOR Rohan Hall (Jamaica Labour Party, Red Hills Division) has raised concern about the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC) use of its Special Grants Recovery (SGR) funds and is calling on Mayor Andrew Swaby to provide a detailed account of how the money has been spent since the arrangement took effect in November 2025.

Hall noted, in a preamble to his questions, that protocols governing access to the SGR were relaxed following the impact of Hurricane Melissa last October, allowing local authorities immediate access to funds to address urgent needs within their respective divisions.

He called on Swaby to account for how the municipal corporation has spent the SGR funds since the revised guidelines took effect.

His questions were read by the KSAMC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Hill, at the corporation’s monthly meeting in downtown Kingston on Tuesday.

“Could you provide a breakdown of how the SGR funds allocated following the Melissa aftermath were spent, including the projects undertaken, the amounts disbursed, and state that divisions that benefited?” Hill read.

The councillor also pointed out that under the current funding arrangements, 20 per cent of the Parochial Revenue Fund (PRF) — slated for road rehabilitation — is to be set aside for social and economic recovery through the SGR, to ensure resources are available in cases of emergency within the municipality.

Against that backdrop, Hall has asked the mayor to advise the council of the municipal corporation’s SGR Fund balance as at June 30, 2026, and to detail when councillors will have access to the Divisional Allocation Fund for road rehabilitation and repairs, so that they can effectively address the concerns and needs of their respective divisions.

“During the April-May 2026 Finance Committee meeting, His Worship indicated that the municipal corporation would be undertaking a road patching programme. Could the mayor provide the council with an update on the implementation of this programme, including the roads that have been completed, those currently under construction, those scheduled for completion and the amount expended to date?” questioned Hall.

He also noted that the Ministry of Local Government has mandated the KSAMC to utilise the first two months of the PRF allocations for drain cleaning activities.

Pointing to an announced $23 million dedicated to unclogging drains and restoring littered coastlines, as part of phase one preparation for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season — which began on June 1 and ends on November 30 — Hall demanded to know: “What allocations have been made for divisions with critical drainage challenges, particularly those that are highly susceptible to flooding? Further, what criteria were used in determining the distribution of these funds among divisions?”

Swaby, who was absent from Tuesday’s meeting of the KSAMC, had previously announced that on average, $85 million is allocated to the PRF, which is primarily for road maintenance, but is further split to accommodate drain cleaning, de-bushing, and support seasonal work programmes.

In the past the mayor has complained of the strain that drain cleaning poses to an already tight budget, and noted in a recent statement that phase two of the initiative would also be funded from the PRF.

On Tuesday, Hill told councillors that Hall’s concerns would be answered at a subsequent city council meeting in September as members go on recess for the month of August.