Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
Opposition Leader Bruce Golding (left), and Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
IN WHAT appears to be a swift damage-control strategy, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding yesterday instructed that the award of contracts by Jamaica Labour Party-dominated parish councils, be placed on the agenda of the party's mayoral meeting next month.
He specifically mentioned the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) which has been the subject of caustic newspaper editorials this week, after Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors on Tuesday vehemently voted against a motion to bring transparency and accountability to the council's activities.
The council is led by Kingston's Mayor Desmond McKenzie, councillor for the Tivoli Gardens division.
On Tuesday, Angela Brown-Burke, People's National Party (PNP) minority leader in the KSAC, moved a resolution calling for the KSAC to begin publicising information on contracts it enters which value more than $120,000.
According to the minority leader, the move was expected to enhance transparency and facilitate accountability.
When a vote on the motion was taken, JLP councillors used their majority in the council to defeat the resolution.
But yesterday, Mr. Golding, one of the most vociferous persons in his party to castigate the Government for granting contracts to "genetically-linked" PNP comrades, sought to set the record straight, in terms of the party's position on the issue of transparency and accountability.
A statement released yesterday by Dwight Nelson, the JLP's Information Spokesman, quoted Mr. Golding as saying that the principle of transparency and accountability should apply to all Government agencies.
Apparently disappointed at how the JLP councillors treated Mrs. Brown-Burke's motion on Tuesday, the Opposition Leader said JLP-controlled parish councils must practise what the party preached.
CONTROLLING INFLUENCE
"Those local government agencies over which the JLP exerts controlling influence, must reflect the party's commitment to these principles, even as the party continues to exert pressure on the Government to apply the same measures to all agencies of Central Government," the Opposition Leader stated.
According to the statement, the mechanism for public disclosure, given the fact that neither the KSAC nor any of the local government authorities currently has a website, is to form part of the agenda at next month's JLP council of mayors meeting.
Contacted yesterday, Mrs. Brown-Burke told The Gleaner that Mr. Golding's latest action was designed to have the party save face.
"There's no doubt the party has come under severe pressure and I expect that this [move] is some damage control," she stated. "The type of acrimony with which the JLP councillors refused to accept the resolution, told me they don't believe in the principle of transparency."
Mrs. Brown-Burke said that her resolution did not limit the posting of KSAC contracts to a website.
"The resolution also stated that in the absence of a functioning website, the information should be made public through the newspaper and other public media," she told The Gleaner.
