PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson told the island's mayors yesterday that a sub-committee of Cabinet will meet next Monday to examine the totality of the damage to the country's infrastructure.
A statement from Jamaica House last night said the meeting is to be chaired by Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Planning. It will consider the funding requirements for roads, drains and bridges across the island, irrespective of the entity that is responsible for maintenance. Agricultural, local government and housing-scheme roads, as well as those controlled by the Ministry of Transport and Works, will be considered at the meeting.
A report of next Monday's meeting will be presented to the Cabinet for a decision to be taken on how repairs will be prioritised, bearing in mind that the funding requirement was more than Central Government could accommodate, the statement said.
The mayors were granted audience with the Prime Minister following their request on Monday, this week.
On that day, a march by the mayors in the vicinity of Jamaica House took an ugly turn when they were tear-gassed by police, who were insistent on dispersing the crowd.
Referring to Monday's march by the mayors, Mr. Patterson said the relationship between local government and central government cannot be adversarial.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
He said that both political parties have a shared responsibility and that his approach in dealing with the councils, irrespective of who controls them, has always been consistent. He said that every mayor or councillor has access to him and that he has always responded to them when they called on him.
The Prime Minister also instructed the National Works Agency to immediately make available to the councils a list of all roads on which it will be undertaking remedial work.
