Morgan
WESTERN BUREAU:
AS MAYOR of the fast developing town of Savanna-la-Mar, Delford Morgan is confident that the Westmoreland Parish Council has made great strides in the first year under his leadership.
"The year has been a very challenging one, but I think all concerned can feel satisfied that we have accomplished a lot of what we set out to do," Mayor Morgan proclaimed.
The accomplishments, he boasts, include the rehabilitation of Parish Council roads and drain-cleaning throughout the parish amounting to more than $15 million. However, the Council's greatest accomplishment, he said, was the creation of a township development plan for Savanna-la-Mar, which paves the way for the booming development anticipated for the town. Already the business community has bought into the plan and it is Mayor Morgan's hope that business leaders will come together to form a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to work with Council to implement the development plan.
"It is the view of the Council that if the business community can form themselves into an NGO, they will be able to access resources that the Council is not in a position to access, and that those resources will better enable them to foster the kind of initiatives that will be necessary to drive the process of the establishment of a greater Savanna-la-Mar," Mayor Morgan expounded.
As part of the development process, the Parish Development Committee has been divided into three joint committees with each having responsibility for specific areas of development within the parish.
The Mayor also spent much of the year revamping the Council's fee-collecting systems by contracting a revenue-collection firm, which goes into the field and ensures that all entertainment events, signs and billboards in the parish, and even the construction of residential and commercial buildings have been approved and the appropriate fees paid.
"We are one of few Councils in the island that owes Government no statutory deductions, we pay all our taxes... and our focus is geared toward development which cannot take place without money but our priority is to see how best we can enhance our revenue earning potential," he said.
On the Council's agenda for this year are a $7 million renovation of the Savanna-la-Mar market, the redesigning of traffic flow in the capital town, and establishment of two cemeteries to serve Savanna-la-Mar and Whitehouse.
