NO PLAN TO QUIT

WESTERN BUREAU:

Some Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors in the St James Municipal Corporation on Thursday chastised Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott for pledging legal support for illegal occupants of lands on the outskirts of Clifton in St Catherine, calling for his immediate resignation.

But in a swift response, Scott, one of four Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) vice-presidents, rubbished the call, challenging his colleagues to acquaint themselves with the processes of dealing with issues of squatting.

The row concerns the demolition of structures illegally erected on lands in the Greater Bernard Lodge Development Area. Some occupants have claimed that they had been duped by unscrupulous persons to pay large sums for the lots, not knowing the individuals were not authorised to sell the properties.

Government Senator Charles Sinclair, councillor for the Montego Bay North East Division, declared that Scott compromised himself after leading a team to visit the affected persons on Sunday, three days after their 10 unfinished structures were flattened in the demolition exercise by order of the Government.

At that time, the PNP had voiced its intention to assist the residents in taking legal action against the Government for the demolition exercise.

“I was shocked when this issue arose in St Catherine, where you had persons who have gone on to a property and taken it over. But the chairman of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation is leading a team of persons who say they want to sue the Government because the Government intervened and said the structures were there illegally and creating an illegal subdivision,” Sinclair told Thursday’s meeting.

“The Government is going to be sued by someone who is a chairman of a municipal corporation, and something does not sit too right with that. Principle is principle, and if Mr Norman Scott has any principle, Mr Norman Scott should tender his resignation as the mayor and chairman of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation,” Sinclair added.

HIGHER STANDARD

His call was buttressed by David Brown, councillor for the Montego Bay West Division, who argued that political figures must be held to a higher standard of responsibility.

“If we cannot serve in the capacity we have been hired to serve, maybe it is time to pack our bags and go. Look inside yourself, and if you lack the intellectual ability to function as a captain or as a leader of a team, pack your bags, sing your sankey, and find your way to your house,” Brown added.

But in a Gleaner interview on Thursday, Scott said that he has no plans to resign.

“They can say anything they want. We said we would give legal representation. The people voted for me, and my peers selected me as the leader,” he said.

“We are going to be giving legal representation. We have said it clearly that we do not condone criminality or illegal activities. However, when you demolish those houses without having due process, that’s a problem,” the mayor added, stressing that the owners of the structures thought they were doing things legally.

“There is a process to deal with illegal occupiers of land, and the councillors from the St James Municipal Corporation, if they don’t know, they need to [enlighten] themselves of the processes,” Scott argued.

In a statement in Parliament this week, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that notices were served asking people building in the area to cease and desist. Meetings were also held between the persons affected and SCJ Holdings, he added.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com