McKenzie chides JLP's Area Council One for failures

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

MEMBER OF Parliament for West Kingston Desmond McKenzie yesterday blasted the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Area Council One, of which he is a deputy leader, for its ineffectiveness, accusing the executive of lacking vision and failing its constituents.

The tough-talking deputy leader who admitted that he bore some of the blame for the generally poor level of representation, made it clear that he would not be taking any prisoners.

Lost valuable time

"In everything we do, is not about me or you, it is about the Jamaica Labour Party and ... I want none of you to lose sight of the reality. If I believe that I am a liability to the area council, I will step aside so that the area council can move on. And anybody who can't help this area council, anybody who is not prepared to work for the area council, it don't make sense you force the issue," he told the Labourites during the Area Council One annual general meeting held at the Olympic Gardens Civic Centre.

He added: "I am tired of it because we have lost valuable time. The time that we should be trying to solve problems within the area council, we could have spent those times strengthening the area council to reclaim the three constituencies that we have lost, and to win back the five seats that we require to win back the KSAC.

"So if anybody believes that platitude is going to get us back in the ascendancy in area council, if anybody believes that ray ray and if anybody believe that sitting behind a closed door and chatting is going to get us back to that position, then you making a sad mistake," McKenzie said.

He added: "Elections are not won because of who your friends are; elections are not won by who can make the most noise; elections are won in the way we worked in 2001 going right back to 2007 elections, working as a team."

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com