By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterSPANISH TOWN'S Mayor, Dr. Raymoth Notice, is hoping that an agreement he signed last Friday with Bill White, Mayor of Houston in Texas, USA will benefit the crime ridden capital of St. Catherine.
The Partners Agreement for Engagement signed between the cities will remain in effect for a year. Among the objectives are, to encourage their respective communities to pursue civic engagement and their citizens to build international friendships. The common interests and similarities that unite these two cities provide an excellent basis for co-operation.
GREATER GOODWILL
According to Dr. Notice, the agreement seeks to foster greater goodwill and civil discourse between the citizens of both countries. He believes this will bring great opporunities for the citizens of Spanish Town.
"We will be seeking whatever help we can," Dr. Notice told The Gleaner yesterday.
The Mayor, who returned to the island on the weekend, said he has since received several committments from the business sector in Houston to assist with providing equipment for a health clinic in Spanish Town as well as disaster preparedness. He further disclosed that persons in Houston have expressed an interest in helping with the development of Cultural Heritage in the old capital.
"Next month a group of about 80 business persons from Houston are expected to arrive in the island to meet with government officials, but they will be spending a day in Spanish Town," revealed Dr. Notice, who was the guest speaker at an annual Junior League gala held in Houston.
DIALOGUE
Mayor Notice plans to provide an opportunity for the Spanish Town Police to begin having
dialogue with their counterparts in Houston, with a view to
formulate solutions to the crime problem in the town.
Since January more than 140 persons have been killed in the adjoining communities of Spanish Town in the St. Catherine North Police Division, where the powerful "One Order" and "Clans" gangs are based. The membership of both gangs is said to be involved in a multi-million dollar extortion racket.
Mayor Notice has said repeatedly that, until there is some level of improvement in the social and economical conditions, the town's crime rate will not decline.
