Gov’t mulls plans to create municipality of Negril

WESTERN BUREAU:

Marlene Malahoo Forte, the minister of legal and constitutional affairs, has indicated that the resort town of Negril could become a municipality, with the development of a legal framework, ending its current status where it is shared by the Hanover and Westmoreland municipal corporations.

Malahoo Forte said the matter was being seriously considered by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie and Prime Minister Andrew Holness as part of ensuring that the stakeholders in the resort space are able to advance the development towards a new Negril.

According to her, the Holness administration has taken particular note that Negril sits in two parishes – part is in Westmoreland and, part is in Hanover.

“I have been wondering, as I know Prime Minister Holness has been wondering, and the minister of local government has also been wondering, whether we should look at a new arrangement for Negril,” said Malahoo Forte.

“Can you imagine a municipality of Negril? Can you imagine how much easier your life will be, and for everyone who has to do business,” the legal and constitutional affairs minister asked while speaking at the Rotary Club of Negril’s installation ceremony held at the Royalton Hotel on Saturday.

“I want to invite you to imagine for a moment a new legal framework for Negril, the new Negril, the wider environs,” Malahoo Forte encouraged.

She said it was very time-consuming to be operating or living in the resort and having to travel to either Savanna-la-Mar in Westmoreland or Lucea in Hanover to conduct business and access basic state services.

“There is a lot that the business people of Negril, the ordinary people, need to do, that involves the Government, especially government at the local level – and from what I hear, it can be frustrating to move between Sav-la-Mar and Lucea,” she stated.

Elaine Allen-Bradley, president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the people and the business community of Negril welcomed the Government’s consideration of the move, as it has always been their view that Negril should manage its own affairs for greater results.

“We are on the corner of two parishes, and we should be well off because we have two parish councils, two mayors – two of everything– and yet we are left stranded. Nobody cares for us,” said Allen-Bradley.

INCREASE INDUSTRIAL ASSETS

She says while the resort town of Negril has a lot of potential, there has (largely) been a lot of talk over the last 30 years.

“We now need somebody at the helm in a municipal setting who can drive its orderly development and manage its assets,” Allen Bradley said, “Negril can deliver and be greater than it is now, but we need the willpower of the powers that be, and the only way we are going to get that is for Negril to become its own manager.”

“If they are going to keep the parish councils, we will need our own manager for Negril because they are not doing any development to benefit the people, they are only there to collect taxpayers money and get their salary.”

According to the local businesswoman, Prime Minister Holness, in a conversation some time ago, advised that for Negril to advance into a municipality, they would need to increase their industrial assets, including having their own courthouse, among other critical essential services, including healthcare.

“We are going to do that out on the Nampariel Road. That’s going to be the industrial development area where we will have our courthouse, tax office,’” Allen-Bradley revealed.

LEGISLATIVE CHANGES

Ten months ago, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett hinted that Prime Minister Holness was expected to announce legislative changes that would see some form of self-governance for Negril.

“It’s difficult to manage one space with two (municipal) authorities, and I will say no more,” Bartlett said then, referencing the potential logistical issues as Negril is controlled by both the Hanover and Westmoreland municipal corporations.

Richard Wallace, immediate past president of the NCCI, believes that Negril’s real potential as a major economic centre will come true if the town becomes a municipality with the capacity to chart its own course.

In a recent interview with The Gleaner, Wallace said that it is now obvious that the Government has heard their cry and is taking steps to make it happen.

According to the geography of Negril, the areas surrounding the town centre, which include the police station and the main commercial centre, fall under the control of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC), while a substantial section of the seven miles of scenic beaches, where most of the hotels are located, falls under the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC).