SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie has expressed shock and disappointment at the deplorable conditions under which the staff of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation is undertaking their daily duties.
"I visited the existing building that has been used by the Westmoreland Parish Council [renamed Westmoreland Municipal Corporation] to carry out the affairs of the parish and I am truly disappointed. I think it demeans the value of the people who work there, and further undermines the performance of the workers," expressed a seemingly embarrassed McKenzie.
McKenzie, who pointed out that there is lot of work to be done at the corporation, added, "The mayor's office, I find it not fitting that of the first citizen of the parish of Westmoreland."
The minister expressed disgust at the matter last Thursday following a tour of the building, which houses the administrative offices of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, formerly Westmoreland Parish Council.
The recent name change forms part of the local government reform process.
Checks carried out by the Jamaica Observer West have revealed that at present most of the corporation's operations are located in crammed spaces on a section of the Savanna-la-Mar Parish Court building in the town.
Deputy Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar Danree Delancey, who sympathised with the staff for working under such poor conditions, argued that “working at the corporation is tantamount to carrying out their duties under duress”.
He noted that the termite-infested building that houses the administrative offices lack storage space for documents; there is no office space for the deputy mayor; the sanitary conveniences are grossly inadequate, while the mayor operates from a small cubicle.
Delancey pointed out that for more than 15 years the monthly general meeting of the corporation has been held at the Anglican Church Hall in Savanna-la-Mar, because of the lack of space at the area on the Westmoreland Parish Court building allotted to the corporation.
He added that the inadequate space has also forced the Poor Relief and Road and Works departments of the corporation to operate from separate locations in the town.
The less than ideal situation at the corporation caught the attention of then Minister with responsibility for Local Government, Robert Montague, during the last Jamaica Labour Party-led administration.
In 2010, Montague committed $35 million from the Equalisation Fund, while a further allocation was made by the immediate former Minister of Local Government, Noel Arscott, of the then ruling People's National Party, for the construction of a building to house the Westmoreland Parish Corporation.
The construction of the facility began just over a year ago.
During a tour of the building under construction last Thursday McKenzie said he is hoping that the facility will be commissioned into service early next year.
"It is a pity that a new building that was to have started way back in 2010... has taken this long for it to reach to where it is," he argued.
"I visited the new facility which is under construction and hopefully, come early next year, the facility will be up and running for the parish council [corporation]."
Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar Bertel Moore said the technical officer has given next February as the new deadline – an extension from September 2016.
The building, when completed, will house an administrative office, mayor's parlour, a meeting room and the planning department, among other amenities.
