‘The assertions are inaccurate’

A stringent enforcement of requirements at the St James Municipal Corporation (St.JMC) in recent times might have been responsible for the failure of the organisers of Genesis to receive a permit to host the Montego Bay leg of the popular gospel show last week.

Highly placed sources intimate to the operations at the local authority told The Gleaner that before the arrival of the new chief executive officer, Naudia Crosskill, applicants could be certain of getting the approval with just a phone call, depending on who they knew.

“Crosskill came and stopped the party,” the source said. “Nothing surpasses her office, now all Ts must be crossed, and all Is dotted.”

“If you check back several administrations you will find that even though paperwork might be done, eventually, some decisions would be made with just a phone call,” the source said.

This follows the cancellation of the Montego Bay leg of the annual religious themed Genesis, staged every New Year’s morning and supported mainly by the Christian community.

According to Crosskill, the promoters of the show, which boasted a rich line-up of some 20 local and international artistes including Marvia Providence, Prodigal Son, King Arthur, Disciple and Warrior Angel did not make a formal application to stage the event, refuting claims that the corporation rejected a request.

“The assertions that the St. James Municipal Corporation refused to grant a permit to the organisers for an entertainment licence to stage the annual gospel show, Genesis are inaccurate,” Crosskill said in a media release.

“We have done a preliminary investigation into the matter and so far, it has been revealled that no such application was made to the corporation.”

She advised that before any entertainment licence can be processed, a written application must be submitted to the corporation and the necessary fees paid.

But head of the Montego Bay chapter of the Jamaica Youth For Christ, Barrington Sergeant is adamant that there was never a time, over the 30-year of staging the event, that he was ever asked to apply by way of a letter.

“When you go there for an (amusement) licence, they give you six forms. You fill out the forms and you pay the amount they charge and you get a receipt, that is the amusement permit,” he said. “You are told that they will be sending one to the police, one to the fire department, one to the public health department [and] one to the NSWMA (National Solid Waste Management Authority) department.”

Sergeant said that as he has done for the past 30 years, he observed all the necessary protocols to get the green light. This, he said began with going to the police, who gave their blessings for the event.

The Genesis promoter said that in the past whenever he was granted a licence from the corporation, the respective agencies would call and interview him about the event.

Meanwhile, Councillor Leeroy Williams, chairman of the St. JMC is suggesting further that the refusal of a permit for the popular event could have been as a result of uncertainties regarding the government’s plans for SOEs for the parish.

“When we give people permission, and it doesn’t work out then there is a problem because you have to refund their money and all that. So I think we were reluctant to approve an amusement licence at the time of the application,” Williams said.

There has been a series of SOEs in St James, with the first on November 8. The measure was in effect for two weeks.

It was extended on November 22 for two weeks, but the announcement was not made until Friday, December 8.

Since then, there has not been any other announcement for SOE or curfews in St James.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com