Our facilities like the Conference Centre and the National Stadium and our associations of sport, of culture and of governance have hosted in this city world-class events, world-class personalities and world-class institutions attracting adulation and encomiums, from far and wide, the world.So when we think of Kingston and St. Andrew we think of no ordinary place; when we think of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, of the citizens who elect its councillors, we think of no ordinary body.
On the contrary we think of a natural environment, of a citizenry and of a set of institutions of a metropolis about which we can be truly proud; about which there is much to give us confidence in ourselves; with much to strengthen belief in our capabilities.
This pride, this self-confidence, this belief in ourselves we have to cultivate now more than ever not only to combat those who would make us believe that we and our leaders are good for nothing. We need this confidence and strength now more than ever to tackle the serious depravity which exists side by side with the exceptional distinction of our capital metropolis.
High among the elements of depravity is our quickness to anger, our proneness to violence in word and deed, our willingness to maim and to murder our brothers and sisters.
This cannot be allowed to continue! It cannot be acceptable that the city which gave humanity the anthem ONE LOVE also presents to the world multiple murders!
The capital city of the country which still ranks as a number one location for honeymooners is number two (of 42 recently ranked by the United Nations) among cities of the world in terms of recorded homicides!
If we are able to be true to ourselves, if we are to bequeath better to our children, if we are to retain moral authority to host civic functions such as this, we from Kingston and St. Andrew and particularly our elected representatives must take the lead in dealing with murder and mayhem!!
And we don't have to look far to find the things to be done. Almost one year and six months ago our national leaders signed off on a set of recommendations from the National Anti-Crime Committee which included representatives of both Parliamentary parties and from civil society.
I urge each and everyone to get a copy of this report.
It obviates the need to keep on talking about the causes of crime it identifies no less than 17 root causes.
It obviates the need to keep on talking about the effects of crime and violence it identifies no less than 12.
It obviates the need to keep on talking about the reasons why past anti-crime initiatives have failed it identifies no less than 10.
It obviates the need to keep on talking about what needs to be done it identifies no less than 15 far-reaching recommendations.
In a word, to come to grips better with the crime and violence in our metropolitan region, we have to talk less and to act more on all 15 recommendations.
In this regard allow me to mention, to remind you of two of these recommendations and to invite the KSAC councillors and the corporation as a whole to take up a particular challenge.
"Community Consultative Committees or Community Councils which are essentially coalitions of schools, NGOs, other civil society actors and possibly local government representation must be developed, trained and legally sanctioned for involvement in participation methods such as community appraisal, developing a vision for the community, action planning, following up and monitoring interventions geared to solving economic and social problems which are at the root of crime and violence." [Recommendation no.6]
"Re-Establish/strengthen legitimate leadership within communities and break the cycle of political patronage" [Recommendation no.7]
"One area needing special attention is the award of contracts for community projects and the distribution of government benefits by political representatives. It is a fact that informal/non-traditional community leaders figure in the contractual and distributive aspects of political work. Politicians as part of an overall code of conduct must be required to desist from these practices and to instead seek the assistance of the properly constituted national and community organs in channelling work and benefits to constituents." [Recommendation no.7 (b)]1
In light of these recommen-dations, may I remind us that there is no shortage of community organs with which our councillors should be seeking to partner, not to control, not to manipulate but to empower.
650 YOUTH CLUBS
On last count there were more than 650 youth clubs, citizens associations, parent-teacher bodies, neighbourhood watches, church groups and other community bodies in the 80 odd communities represented by 51 councillors in the Kingston Metropolitan Region.
KSAC Councillors and community organisation leaders, given our history of tribalism, are not an easy partnership to put together. But if we are serious, there is no other route to empowerment, to undermining the criminal element and to providing a more solid base for our system of democratic governance.
We have tackled difficult tasks before and, especially when our backs are against the wall, when we see no other way out, we have overcome difficult odds.
Surely the Council to which Marcus Garvey and Alexander Bustamante once belonged can take up the challenge: To develop and to monitor what the National Anti-crime plans call "a code of conduct" whereby councillors would fully involve the community and desist from a tribal approach in the award of contracts for community projects and the distribution of government benefits.
This code could be developed in conjunction with the Office of the Political Ombudsman and the Peace Management Initiative. Already in this regard, valuable experience is being gathered and important experimentation being developed out of the recent tragic murders at Temple Hall in St. Andrew.
Let us learn from this experience, develop a code, monitor the implementation of the code, expose those in breach and reward those in compliance.
Rewards and awards in whatever forms I am sure could be quite substantial, especially as I am confident that civil society, the private sector and perhaps even the parties themselves would readily pool resources to give meaningful incentives to sustain best practices in breaking one of the fundamental roots of crime, violence and division of the people viz. the partisan domination of 'scarce benefit' distribution by political activists.
This is my challenge to the Desmond McKenzie administration of the KSAC and the Portia Simpson Miller leadership of the Local Government system.
Time is short and necessity is compelling to save our great Kingston Metropolitan Region and its citizens from being overwhelmed by crime and violence.
