Minster of Local Government & Community Development Hon. Noel Arscott has appointed Rupert Pryce as temporary head of the National Solid Waste Management Authority effective today, January 12, 2012. The Announcement was made this afternoon at a press briefing at the Minister’s office.

Mr Pryce’s background is in economics and finance, he is former director of the Parochial Revenue Fund which is the main source of revenue for the Local Authorities.

The Minister has also announced that he has received the resignation of the Chairman and board of the NSWMA. The interim Executive Director will manage the authority until a new board is appointed.

The appointment of the Executive Director is the responsibility of the board of directors.

The City of Kingston got is 52^nd Mayor when Councillor Lee Clarke was sworn in yesterday, Tuesday January 10, 2012.

Mayor Clarke who is the councillor for the White Hall division brings to the position years of experience; he has been councillor since 1981 and has served as Deputy Mayor in the Kingston & St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) for the past 8 years.   Mayor Clarke was instrumental in the writing of the Councillor’s Handbook, the completion of the final report of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on Local Government Reform as well as the development of the Corporation’s 25-year development plan.

Making his inaugural address, Mayor Clarke said that he would continue much of the work that was started by his predecessor. “I do not come to office intending to re-invent the wheel” he said, adding that he could not solve all the problems but would focus on addressing as many as possible and that he was looking forward to the co-operation of all the councilors to make the KSAC stronger and better.

The Mayor made clear however, that he would be seeking to implement some of his own ideas namely, one which he first voiced back in 2008, a city lottery. Clarke said then that it had the potential to create more than 7,000 jobs directly and indirectly and earn some $1 billion in the first year.  He wanted the idea back on the table because the council faces serious funding problems that have hampered its ability to efficiently carryout its responsibilities particularly as it relates to the numerous roads, drains and gullies within the corporate area.

In addition, Clarke said he plans to push for the implementation of local government reform and appealed to former Mayor Desmond McKenzie and newly installed Minister of Local Government & Community Development, Hon Noel Arscott, to give their full support as members of the House of Representatives.

In his response Minister Arscott congratulated the new mayor and assured him that his administration was committed to the reform process “… and will be working assiduously to ensure that we get that done,” .

The KSAC was holding its first regularly scheduled meeting since the December 29^th  general elections in which former Mayor Desmond McKenzie was elected as MP for Western Kingston. The corporation also selected a new Deputy Mayor, Councillor Vernon McLeod who represents the Havendale Division.

An educator by training and businessman by vocation Colin Fagan entered history as the first deputy mayor of Portmore when it became a municipality in 2003. The 55-year-old climbed the political ladder from being councillor (for the Edgewater division in Portmore) to Member of Parliament.  He  replaced Dr. Paul Robertson as the PNP’s for candiate South East St. Catherine in 2007 and defeated the JLP’s Arthur Williams by 305 votes.

Prior to entering political life Minister Fagan worked for many years with the Social Development Commission (SDC).  He has served as chairman of the Portmore City Council, treasurer/manager for the Jamaica Welfare Co-operative Credit Union and regional vice-president for Jaycees of Jamaica. He has also worked with the National Youth Service.

Minister Fagan who grew up in Manchester attended Holmwood Technical High.  He later studied at the West Virginia University of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Vocational Education. He has also received training in municipal management in Korea, has studied in Israel, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in community development and psychology.

Minister Fagan is married and has two children.

Deputy Mayors Lee Clarke and Owen Palmer are set to assume the positions of Mayors of Kingston and Spanish Town respectively. The positions became vacant when the incumbent Mayor of Kingston, Senator Desmond McKenzie was elected as MP for Western Kingston and Mayor of Spanish Town, Dr. Andrew Wheatley was elected as MP for the St Catherine South Central seat, in the December 29th general elections.

The deputy mayors are to be sworn in as new mayors in accordance with the provisions of the Parish Councils Act and the Kingston & St Andrew Corporation (KASC) Act, which allows for the ‘promotion’ of the deputy mayor in the event that the mayor demits office for whatever reason prior to a local government election. The Council will then have to select a new deputy mayor.

The general elections actually left the St Catherine Parish Council with two vacant seats as Denise Daley, Councillor of the Linstead division, was elected as MP for East St Catherine.

The Hon. Shahine Robinson, Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Housing, Environment, Water and Local Government with responsibility for local government is this evening assuring firefighters housed at a temporary facility in Montego Bay that every effort is being made to alleviate their working condition as quickly as possible.

The Minister, in swift response to a media report on the plight of the living and operational conditions of the men and women in the Western region has mandated the technical services unit within the ministry to conduct a technical audit of the fire station facility at the Freeport in Montego Bay, by tomorrow, Wednesday, November 23, 2011. In addition she has also announced that the sum of $14million has been earmarked in the interim to do minor remedial work to fire stations islandwide.

The technical audit is being undertaken to determine the better of two options for the fire fighters who are currently being housed in less than ideal condition at the existing location. The audit team is expected to determine whether the approximately 120 firefighters are to be relocated or the facility will be upgraded.

Meanwhile, the Minister will be meeting with the hierarchy of the Jamaica Fire Brigade including board members and senior members of the Department of Local Government to continue discussions on the way forward in looking at a comprehensive plan for the island’s fire stations.

The original headquarters for the St. James division at 34 Barnett Street in Montego Bay was demolished sometime ago to facilitate a new and modern facility slated to cost $200million dollars. However, due to budgetary constraints the plans have been put on hold, resulting in the firefighters being relocated at their current location at Freeport.

“Local Government: Your Partner in Community Development.”

 

Members of the Local Government fraternity and my fellow Jamaicans:

Local Government Month is one of the most important highlights on the annual Local Government calendar. The aim of the Local Government Month celebration, generally, is to increase the awareness of Jamaican citizens about the importance of local government and good local governance in their day-to-day lives, usually under a specified theme.

This general goal is achieved through a series of celebratory activities to mark the month of November as Local Government Month. This year’s theme is Local Government: Your Partner in Community Development. This theme highlights two essential ideas underpinning the Local Government Reform Process, namely, partnership and community development.

The focus on these two key elements in the Reform process at this time in the nation’s history is significant. It coincides with the blossoming of a new and dynamic dispensation of renewed hope and promise, with the recent inauguration of The Honourable Andrew Holness as Jamaica’s ninth Prime Minister, and myself presiding over the Local Government Month celebration as Minister with responsibility for Local Government in a new Ministry under the Senior ministerial leadership of the Hon. Dr. Horace Chang. This leadership renewal at the national and local government levels should provide even greater impetus in advancing the Local Government Reform Agenda.

Local government reform involves the reorganization of the structure and administrative functions of the local authorities, to give them greater autonomy and control, so as to enable them to serve their communities more effectively and with greater efficiency.

Our theme for this year’s celebration strongly underscores the need to establish a true partnership relationship between the newly enhanced Local Government Authorities, and the different elements of civil society in order to realize the ideal of sustainable community development. The Reform process will facilitate the empowerment of citizens to participate in and influence the process of local governance. Greater self-management and accountability for determining their own destinies and solving their own problems will be the result of this.

Increasingly, our citizens are demanding more and better quality service underscored by transparency and accountability, and a forum for enhancing their participation in local governance. They are the reason for our existence and we are heeding the call.

Our responsiveness to this urgent call is evidenced by the significant progress the Department of Local Government has made in advancing the Reform Legislative Agenda as well other crucial Reform Issues.

Broad consensus has been reached on the proposal that local government should be entrenched in the Jamaican Constitution. The timetable for including this Reform Agenda item in the Constitution Amendments Programme is very advanced. Importantly too, the three Strategic Laws critical to the Legal Reform Agenda, in the areas of Finance, Governance and Human Resources have moved from Cabinet Submission status to drafting status.

The National Building Act has been tabled in Parliament and a Joint Select committee has been established chaired by the Hon. Dr. Chang to review the bill and report back to Parliament.

Similar progress have been made on other proposed Reform Agenda items including the Municipal Court Proposal, the Financial Management & Accounting System, the Direct Financing Programme, the Organizational Review Scheme, and the role of Local Authorities in the Public Sector Transformation Unit.

I wish to take this opportunity to encourage all citizens to partner with their respective Parish Councils in achieving sustainable community development. I encourage you to embrace the opportunity to sit on various Council Committees of your respective Parish Development Committees.

Continued structured development of community stakeholders has continued, led by us in Local Government. The chairpersons of the PDCs have been mandated to forge a stronger relationship with the Local Authorities, play a greater role in the sustainable development planning of their communities as well as have a deeper involvement in projects that involve public/private partnership. All citizens can play a part, and should.

Let me congratulate each Local Authority for their commitment to Local government reform and for their work in developing sustainable communities. You have overcome many challenges, but have remained undaunted. Our challenge now is to sustain the developments we have realized and to accelerate the process of local government reform. Local Government Month is a great opportunity to highlight your roles and functions and to be innovative in educating and involving your communities. Notwithstanding the challenges we currently face, we are excited about the prospects for realizing our Local Government Reform vision of achieving sustainable development in our communities and thereby the nation.

Therefore, let us move ahead with renewed commitment, as individuals, as a team, as communities and as a nation and effectively embrace our roles as local government leaders, practitioners, and civil society partners. Let us continue the thrust towards achieving good local governance by embracing principles of transparency, accountability, responsiveness, citizen’s participation and improved service delivery for a sustained democratic local government system in Jamaica for all Jamaicans.

Thank You and God bless us all as we celebrate another local government month.

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The Department of Local Government today, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US based energy management company, Green RG Management LLC for the testing of alternate energy technology.

Under the agreement Green RG Management, who submitted and unsolicited proposal to the Government of Jamaica, will execute a Pilot Programme to demonstrate its patented energy management system and products in selected Government agencies such as infirmaries and schools.

Speaking at the signing ceremony Minister with responsibility for Local Government, in the Office of the Prime Minister the Honourable Shahine Robinson lauded the New Jersey based company for their boldness in implementing this pilot at no cost to the Government of Jamaica. She endorsed the initiative as it in keeping with earlier efforts of the Department of Local Government to explore energy efficient solutions.

“We are one of the few government entities that have made strides in promoting, exploring and adapting renewable energy solutions” she said, pointing to the Department’s experiment with bio-diesel in which waste cooking oil has been converted and is being utilized in Solid Waste Management trucks.

Green RG Management asserts that the technology will save the government 20% on energy cost.