Devon Evans, Gleaner WriterOCHO RIOS, St. Ann
FIVE MONTHS after the National Solid Waste Manage-ment Authority (NSWMA) was paid $3.5 million to initiate a general clean-up of Ocho Rios, only a small portion of the work has been completed.
This has resulted in the St. Ann Parish Council demanding a return of the unused portion of the fund.
Stating that the council was disappointed with the performance of the agency, Mayor Delroy Giscombe charged that instead of cleaning up the town, the money was being used to offer questionable contracts to known PNP supporters.
"One of the contracts which was for $86,000 was given to a former PNP councillor to clean-up around the Ocho Rios town clock and we are not going to allow the council's money to be used as a pork barrel," he declared.
The mayor said that based on the information received from the NSWMA, approximately $1.5 million had been spent already and the council is demanding that no further work be done and the unused $2 million returned to the council.
Mayor Giscombe said he is confident that the council will be able to do a far better job of cleaning up Ocho Rios than that which the solid waste agency said it had done.
The mayor's position was fully supported by the majority of councillors attending Thursday's monthly meeting of the St. Ann Parish Council.
The clean-up of Ocho Rios was ordered in October last year by Local Government Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, who instructed the council to release $3.5 million to the NSWMA to carry out the work.
MAIN TARGET
The main target was to clean up Ocho Rios in time for the winter tourist season, which began on December 15 last year, but to date the residents and members of the business sector are still complaining about the state of the town.
A furious Mayor Giscombe said he has been chastised and criticised by many people over the continued state of Ocho Rios, and that he does not intend to take this blame any longer when he was not the one at fault.
The mayor also said that while people are being told to keep their mouth shut on matters relating to solid waste management, but he will not allow himself or the council to be intimidated by anyone and is demanding that the NSWMA return the council's funds as soon as possible.
