MINISTER OF Local Government, Community Development and Sport, Portia Simpson Miller, has urged councillors and other employees of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to ensure that their work reflected the new thrust, which has become an imperative in the present globalised and high-tech economy.
"We in Local Government want to do away with the idea that our work is miles behind the times, and takes place in dusty cubby-holes, often empty because of absenteeism," the Minister said.
She added that in recent times, the role and necessity of Local Government had been questioned. "Let me answer them by stating categorically, that Local Government serves an irreplaceable role for the Jamaican people," Mrs. Simpson Miller declared.
The Minister was speaking at the recent dedication and handing over ceremony for the newly refurbished Council offices of the KSAC in downtown Kingston.
She said that strong participatory and accountable Local Government was the best vehicle for local growth, and that already, the country's Local Government system had been working very effectively in some areas.
"We expect this improvement to spread throughout the system until local governance becomes the yardstick by which other endeavours are measured," she said. The Minister spoke of marked improvement in downtown Kingston, noting that Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's recently announced plans to renovate that section of the city, had been met with mass approval. "This is part of our intention for Local Government, taking the concept of democracy out of the abstract realm and giving it real, practical concrete meaning in the day-to-day lives of our citizens," she said.
The refurbishing of the building was done at a cost of just over $40 million.
The Parish Infrastructure Development Programme (PIDP), jointly funded by the Government and the Inter-American Development Bank, is undertaking the upgrading and refurbishing of Parish Council offices across the island. The KSAC building project began in March 2001 with the refurbishing of the first floor offices of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Town Clerk and their administrative staff, in addition to sanitary facilities and Council chambers.
Due to the condition of the building, Town Clerk, Errol Greene, told JIS News that there were delays as well as an increase in the original US$650,000 budget.
The building now boasts air-conditioned facilities, a new fire detection and alarm system, seating for 60 persons in the Council chambers, in addition to the public gallery, a state-of-the-art public address/audio system, and a modern Caucus room. The reception and administrative areas have also been transformed for comfort.
Technical Director in the Ministry, Patrick Wong, informed that refurbishing work to improve the facilities of the Manchester Parish Council building would be undertaken next month.
Overall, the PIDP is expected to cost an estimated US$50 million.
