PNP councillors accused of being vultures

Kimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter

St Thomas Western Member of Parliament (MP) James Robertson has poured scorn on People’s National Party (PNP) councillors for their “distasteful” quest for power following the sudden death of Lenworth Rawle, the deputy mayor of Morant Bay.

“They’re jumping up and down like vultures,” said Robertson, who spoke to The Gleaner on Thursday.

In the aftermath of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor’s passing midweek, Robertson said the Opposition’s caucus ought to “keep quiet” and allow time for Rawle’s family and colleagues to mourn.

“The truth is, the PNP in that division and those behaving in a distasteful manner at this time, I saw him eat and drink with them as friends for 20 years, so I’m surprised at their behaviour,” the JLP MP said, adding that the councillor was well loved.

“Now they seem to just be in a crazy frenzy. The truth is it’s the only way they can win anything because the next time any local government election is called, it’s 10-0,” Robertson asserted.

Rawle, councillor for the Trinityville division in the St Thomas Municipal Corporation, died on October 31 in the United States, where he had sought medical treatment.

The division falls within the St Thomas Western constituency.

General secretary of the PNP, Dr Dayton Campbell, declined to comment on the next move for the Opposition party when contacted by The Gleaner on Thursday.

Mayor of Morant Bay Michael Hue did not respond to calls from The Gleaner. Hue is the JLP councillor for the Port Morant division.

“I don’t want to get into that at this point, but I’d want to express sincere condolences to the deputy mayor’s family and friends,” Campbell said.

Rawle’s death has triggered a shift in the balance of power of the local authority, where both the PNP and JLP held five divisions each.

By virtue of securing the popular vote in the 2016 local government elections, the JLP earned the right to choose the mayor, resulting in its control of the corporation.

That is now expected to change once Rawle’s death is recorded in the minutes of the next council meeting.

Section 104 of the Parish Council Act outlines that the seat of an elected councillor “shall not be deemed to have been vacated, or to have become vacant until such vacancy shall have been entered on the minutes of such council, or until the Supreme Court shall have declared the seat to be vacant ...”.

It is expected that the PNP, the minority in the council, will table a resolution to have Rawle’s death recorded and subsequently vote to select a mayor.

That vote would cement a sixth PNP-led municipal corporation to the JLP’s eight.

Former Local Government Minister Noel Arscott said the shift in power would not be significant.

“Obviously, the PNP gains an additional mayor. It would be important politically, but in real terms on the ground, I don’t think it will make a big difference,” Arscott said in a Gleaner interview Thursday.

“The political work would be there and the issue of the work for the municipality, in terms of the infrastructure or drain cleaning and road repairs. Those functions are pretty much the remit of the CEO who has the responsibility to implement projects. In the short term, it shouldn’t make any significant difference.”

Arscott described the issue to be symbolic while pointing to the impending local government polls.

A by-election to fill a vacancy cannot be announced if a local government election is constitutionally due within six months of the vacancy arising.

An election is due by February 2023.

At least nine divisions across the island have remained vacant because of councillors’ deaths or resignations since 2020.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie could not be reached for comment.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com