Acting deputy Portmore mayor upset about ZIKV money

Acting Deputy Mayor of the Portmore Municipality, Alric Campbell, has questioned why parish councils and councillors were not given any money as part of the fight against the Zika Virus.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, announced in parliament that $1 million would be given to Members of Parliament next month to help in their mosquito eradication programmes.

Speaking at a municipal council meeting Wednesday, Campbell, who is also the councillor for the Edgewater division, charged that parish councils have been in the forefront of the fight to eradicate Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, which spread the virus  and argued that councillors and parish councils should have been allocated monies.

The acting deputy mayor also questioned whether the fact that the majority of parish councils are controlled by the opposition People's National Party (PNP) played a role in his decision.

Campbell was supported by acting Mayor, Leon Thomas, who asserted that excluding parish councils shows a gross disregard for local governance and the needs of the people at the local level.

He indicated that he would be giving instructions for the municipal council to write to Tufton seeking answers.