KSAC isn't twiddling its thumbs

Lee Clarke, Contributor

The Gleaner editorial of Sunday, September 18 appeared, on the surface, to be a response to the current crisis facing the city, in terms of the illegal construction of buildings, but actually turned out to be a disingenuous attempt to discredit the work of Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie, his administration and the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) in general.

It is obvious that the author of the editorial is either ignorant of developments which have taken place in Kingston and St Andrew since 2003, when the current administration took office, or deliberately chose to ignore the facts and used the opportunity, instead, to attack the mayor and the KSAC.

It is inconceivable how any institution in Jamaica, notably the media, could attack the current mayor for non-performance, in view of the active role he played in the Corporate Area's development over the past eight years.

Phrases like the mayor's "gurgling boilers" and "hissing pressure-release valves", and the description of the KSAC as a "small-bore council", "absent in leadership, vision or direction", suggest that the editorial was influenced more by a subjective rage against the mayor and the council than a passion for objectivity in assessing their performance.

I can list a number of developments over the past eight years initiated by Mayor McKenzie which had been ignored by previous administrations and which he has pursued vigorously in the best interest of the municipality and its residents, but subject to the legal rights of the offenders, which is the sole reason we suspend activities from time to time and which was interpreted in the editorial as blowing hot and cold.

These include:

creating a KSAC website, providing citizens with the most up-to-date information on our online services, approved plans, permits and licences for various actives, and communicating all events and activities taking place within the municipality and at the council;

a much-improved system of disaster preparedness involving the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, the National Works Agency, the National Environment and Planning Agency, Poor Relief Department and the Parish Development Committee (PDC), which has been very effective in preparing for natural disasters, including hurricanes and floods, by reducing possibility of loss of life and property;

a programme to tackle the issue of some 14,000 unregistered businesses operating illegally for years within the Corporate Area, with the support of the Tax Administration department, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the police to ensure that these businesses meet required standards for operating, including registration, work permits, tax and public-health obligations and observing appropriate employment standards;

removal of sidewalk garages and illegal street signs which hamper the movement of pedestrians and do not comply with the regulations for such operations;

increased inspection of nightclubs and other entertainment venues, including the National Stadium, to ensure that they meet the city's requirement for the safety of patrons, especially in the event of emergencies;

efforts to contain the staging of events which disturb the peace and quiet of residential communities, as well as limit commercial activities intruding into these communities;

improvements to the system of vending; both sidewalk and market vending, especially in downtown Kingston, where sidewalks have been made more accommodating for pedestrians, including the physically challenged, and more accessible to the police for security;

millions of dollars spent on improvements to the historical May Pen Cemetery, the city's main burial ground;

improvements to green/recreational spaces, including St William Grant Park, with the support of the corporate community;

improvements to the facilities for the payment of taxes, registration, etc. at the KSAC's head office, Church Street, downtown Kingston;

development of parking lots and increased vigilance of no-parking areas in New Kingston;

joint ventures with Digicel and LIME to improve the commercial atmosphere in downtown Kingston and Half-Way Tree, where 28 secured vending stalls have been provided for vendors around Mandela Park, improving access in the area;

a joint effort with the commercial community to improve the security and attractiveness of downtown Kingston to encourage investment in its redevelopment, which has resulted in a tremendous boost in interest in the transformation of the area with the construction of the new Digicel corporate offices, interest in properties such as the former Myrtle Bank Hotel premises, as well as plans for a state-of-the-art police facility to replace the old Area Four headquarters;

improved public transportation facilities, including the removal of some public transportation from Parade to the new transport centre, to prepare Parade to recover its former glory as the cultural capital of the city, with the refurbishing of the Ward Theatre and the construction of the new Bolivar Cultural Centre;

demolition of buildings which have exceeded or ignored the city's building regulations for decades, and efforts to ensure that all construction is approved by the KSAC and fits in with the municipality's town-planning policy;

projects to improve the commerciality of the downtown area, through the Christmas shopping proposition, 'Christmas In The City, Downtown Comes Alive', with the support of The Gleaner Company, the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce;

increased public-health activities, including renovation of public sanitary conveniences, inspection of massage parlours and monitoring of sidewalk hairdressing and barbering activities to protect citizens from a possible outbreak of diseases;

preparation of a directory of indigents so that they can be properly monitored and kept under supervision by the Poor Relief Department, as well as work on a new night shelter for the city's homeless;

continuing programme of fixing roads and cleaning drains, especially prior to and during the rainy season, despite limited resources;

and our efforts to establish a city lotto, as a means of helping the KSAC to increase revenues to finance its programmes, as well as providing jobs for some 2,000 unskilled citizens.

paying rich dividends

Our commitment to these and other projects is obviously paying rich dividends, as confirmed by recent statements by the minister of finance and the UDC, emphasising a 300 per cent increase in expressions of interest in the tax-incentive programme for urban renewal by investors over the past 18 months.

I could go on and list several other initiatives of the current KSAC administration, but they have all been exposed in the media, including The Gleaner, and have earned the support and gratitude of the vast majority of citizens of Kingston and St Andrew.

I would also like to refer to one of the most important and fundamental achievements of this KSAC administration, the Kingston and St Andrew Sustainable Development Plan 2005-2025.

The plan provides a framework covering: global and regional trends; the impact of globalisation on the city; the CARICOM Single Market and Economy: local spatial trends; demographic trends; the impact of migration; and urban growth and decentralisation.

The strategic goals and objectives include: improving the living conditions of the residents of Kingston and St Andrew, in terms of governance, economic development, infrastructure, energy, social services, recreation and open spaces, transportation, roads, housing, natural, hazards, the built environment, employment and reduced crime and violence.

We may not be doing as much as some sections of the media would like, but I assure you that we are doing as much as we can, with very limited resources. However, if we can work together as a team committed to the success of the redevelopment of the city, without being biased and disingenuous, with the support of the citizens of the Corporate Area, we will succeed.

Lee Clarke is deputy mayor of Kingston. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.