By Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
WHEN HE was selected by a caucus of the newly-elected Councillors of the St. James Parish Council to become Montego Bay's Mayor on September 17, 1998, Hugh Solomon was bombarded with suggestions from well-wishers.
"My first request of the new Mayor is that he gets on a bicycle or a bike and go through the town every morning to see what is happening," Josef Fortsmayr, then President of the Montego Bay Chamber and Industry, offered Mayor Solomon.
Although he did not take up Mr. Fortsmayr's advice, Mayor Solomon, who is about to demit office after sitting in the proverbial hot seat for just over four years, is reasonably satisfied that he has achieved most of the goals he set for himself when he took office.
"I am not one who really like to praise myself but based on the objectives I set when I took office, I think I have achieved about 70 per cent of my goals," said Mayor Solomon, whose new ambition is to win a seat in the nation's Parliament. "I really believe my contribution has made Montego Bay a better place for its citizens."
MAYOR'S ACHIEVEMENTS
Outlining some of the successes of his administration, he reeled off an impressive list of achievements:
- The multi-million dollar refurbishing of the Parish Council's municipal
building.
- The computerisation of the Council's operation to include computer training
of the staff.
- The completion of the South Gully Project and the partial completion of
the North Gully Project, which has brought an end to the perennial flooding
of the city.
- The multi-million dollar upgrading of the old courthouse, which has now
become the spanking new civic centre.
- The upgrading of the Retirement Dump into a modern 'land fill' which has
rid the area of dust, smoke and garbage pollution.
- Over $250 million in road repairs to cover important roadways such as the
Alice Eldemire Drive and downtown Montego Bay.
- The mass erection of street signs all over Montego Bay and surrounding
communities.
- The installation of traffic lights at numerous intersections.
- The cleaning of drains and the removal of over 1,000 derelict motor vehicles
from in and around the city.
- The multi-million dollar upgrading of the Montego Bay abattoir to include
new disposal system to prevent effluent from seeping into the city's marine
park.
- The appointment of a city manager to oversee the commercial affairs of
the Council.
- The upgrading of the Montego Bay Infirmary to include a chapel.
- Putting plans in place for the new Retirement Cemetery, which has just
received final approval.
- Expanding the relationship between Mon-tego Bay and its 'sister city' Atlanta
which has resulted in increased co-operation.
- "There are lot of other accomplishments that I could speak about but I think
that those I have already outlined is a clear indication that I have made
my contribution," said Mayor Solomon. "When I leave the chambers of this Council,
I will be doing so with a clear conscience that I did my best."
AREAS OF DISAPPOINTMENT
Mayor Solomon is quite disappointed that his administration did not manage to create a greater impact in some important areas. Among the areas in which he wished he had done better:
The city's vexing street people problem, which remains a source of concern despite the efforts of groups such as the Community for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI) and City Spirit, an organisation founded by the Council to look into the affairs of the street people.
"I am genuinely concerned about the street people problem, especially the children, who have been left to roam the streets," said Mayor Solomon, who took a lot of heat after the infamous 'street people scandal' of 1999, in which over 40 street persons were kidnapped from the streets of Montego Bay and dumped in St. Elizabeth. "With the plans to close the Bellevue Hospital in Kingston, chances are that we might be seeing more mentally ill persons gravitating towards Montego Bay."
In a bid to find a solution to the street people situation, Mayor Solomon, who said the Council has given lands at Albion to establish a centre for them, was forthright in stating that, "what is needed is a clear-cut government policy to see about their well-being."
Street vending - a perennial problem in Montego Bay. Regarding this, he said: "I don't think it should be the responsibility of the Council and the police alone. There is a need for a spirit of co-operation all around. If we are going to succeed in the orderly development of the city, the problem of street vending must be everybody's business."
When quizzed as to whether or not the Council would fare better under the planned reform of Local Government, Mayor Solomon said he was supportive of the reform process but thinks that for it to be effective, it must be entrenched into the nation's Constitution.
"It is all well and good to be talking about empowering the local authority but there is also a need to determine whether or not a local authority is needed," said Mayor Solomon. "Let us say we have an executive mayor, what type of power will he have, will he have the power to hire and fire... well he be in charge of the fire department, will he be in charge of the city fully or will it just be a matter of just voting for somebody and not changing anything."
He added: "As things exist presently, the service commission and not the Council dictates, who you hire and who you don't hire and who you fire and who you don't fire. You are just left as Mayor without any power to do anything."
"We just need to look at where we are going with it (Local Government Reform) and how we are going to implement the different things and how we are going to put it forward. I am for Local Govern-ment Reform but we need to get it right."
