CONTRIBUTED
Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie (centre) cuts the ribbon to officially unveil the Ralph E. Brown Municipal Building, formerly the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) building, on Church Street in downtown Kingston. Looking on are Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke (right), and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Lee Clarke. The unveiling took place yesterday.Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
THE KINGSTON and St. Andrew Corporation's (KSAC) Municipal Building was yesterday renamed the Ralph E. Brown Municipal Building.
The building takes the name of former KSAC Mayor and Local Government Minister Ralph Brown, who died in 1999.
Among those in attendance were Central Kingston MP Victor Cummings, former Central Kingston MP Ronald Thwaites, who dedicated the building, former Town Clerk Errol Greene, and Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke.
Delivering the main address at the ceremony held on the KSAC's piazza on Church Street, downtown Kingston, Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie lauded Mr. Brown as "one of the greatest heroes of local government in this country".
He stated that the former mayor was never afraid to speak his mind.
"He was a champion of local government as the vehicle to represent the interests of the citizens at the community level," the KSAC mayor said.
Mr. McKenzie, however, lamented that despite all Mr. Brown's achievements, very few persons in the city knew much of him.
"In any other city in the world, a man who has contributed so much to its growth and development, like Ralph Brown has to Kingston, would be recalled on the lips of the average resident," said the KSAC mayor.
He added that his administration intends to change the culture of forgetfulness of persons who served the city well.
"In pursuing that objective, we have sought to honour our past mayors, town clerks, and even our local heroes who have been ignored by the rest of the country," Mr. McKenzie promised.
Speaking also at the ceremony yesterday, Mr. Cummings, a former Allman Town councillor, hailed Mr. Brown as "the father of modern day local government."
Mr. Brown returned to Jamaica as a small contractor after serving the Royal Air Force during World War Two. In 1958, he became an MP in the West Indies Federation.
Mr. Brown first became mayor of Kingston in 1974 and served in that capacity until 1977. He became mayor again in 1986 and served until 1989.
