JLP caretaker wants booted councillor’s spending audited
Published:Thursday | June 18, 2020 | 12:00 AMAdrian Frater/News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
A political opponent is calling for an audit into funds allocated to the division of one of two People’s National Party councillors booted from the St James Municipal Corporation last week.
Gregory Harris, the Jamaica Labour Party’s caretaker for the Salt Spring Division in St James, is demanding a probe into the use of Parochial Revenue Funds (PRF) allocated to the division under Sylvan Reid’s stewardship.
According to Harris, Reid had not served the division well in his tenure as councillor, and he would like to have a clear picture as to how his PRF funds were spent.
“On behalf of the residents of Salt Spring Division, I am calling on the chairman of the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), Montego Bay’s mayor, Councillor Homer Davis, to direct the audit to take place immediately,” Harris said in a media release.
Harris further asked that Reid’s attendance records at various meetings, especially the Local Public Accounts Committee, be made public, with a view to establishing that he has neglected his duties as an elected official.
“Mr Reid’s performance as a councillor has been dismal in comparison to the other councillors in St James,” said Harris. “In almost four years, he has only repaired one road and conducted minor repairs on another while other councillors have completed 13 and eight roads.”
Reid and fellow councillor Gladstone Bent, who represented the Catadupa division, were both disqualified as councillors last Thursday after missing three consecutive meetings of the StJMC.
Both men are challenging their disqualification and have retained the services of K.D. Knight, QC, to mount a challenge to overturn the ruling.
Reid had previously told The Gleaner he would not be commenting on issues surrounding his disqualification as the matter was now in the hands of his attorney.