During the lead-up to the Local Government elections, both the Government and the Opposition have sought to attract more capable candidates to run in the elections. Part of this effort is to have persons who can make the transition from being councillors to representatives at the national level.

MAJOR ACTORS within the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), have not minced words in a damning condemnation of the corporation's failure to adequately deliver on its mandate.

The reasons cited for the underperformance are varied but lead back to the same inescapable conclusion: the KSAC is a limping giant, badly in need of increased resources, better councillors and brighter management.

Town Clerk, Errol Greene, who spoke to The Gleaner earlier this year said there is need "for drastic reform" to the KSAC to improve its capability to carry out its functions. One of the greatest needs right now he said, is for "better qualified persons who can think smarter and manage smarter."

According to him, there is also need for more cash support from central Government to give the KSAC a jump start to help it carry out some of its functions, such as maintaining markets, cleaning drains and ensuring compliance with building codes.

After all, he argued, the KSAC is still trying to recover from the 1980s when the Local Government system was stripped of its functions and its best staff and equipment cannibalised.

RELEVANT SUPPORT

"When the functions were handed back, they were handed back without the relevant support," he said. It's difficult to run markets that are losing about $20 million per year, he added.

Senator Desmond McKenzie, who is also the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Tivoli Gardens Division, is clear in his mind that the KSAC has not done a good job. He agreed that the shortage of qualified technical staff is a major setback. However, for him, the problem also touches on the failure of the political actors.

He was far from flattering in his comments about the stewardship of mayor Marie Atkins who, he argues, has not provided the leadership necessary to give the KSAC the energy to make sensible and bold decisions to rebuild the capital city.

"When you have a mayor who lacks vision and who is not aware of what is going on, then you have a problem," he said.

Mr. McKenzie would not confirm speculation that he was interested in becoming mayor of Kingston if the JLP wins the KSAC in the Local Government elections on June 19. According to him, his focus right now, was not to become mayor, but to steer the JLP to victory in the KSAC.

SHARP CRITICISM

Angella Brown-Burke, the People's National Party (PNP) councillor for the Norman Gardens Division, also has sharp criticism for the KSAC. When The Gleaner spoke to her recently, she was in no doubt that the system and faltered and was in need of reform.

"We have not been doing a good job," she admitted.

Like Mr. Greene and Mr. McKenzie, she fingers the lack of adequately trained and qualified technical staff as one of the major problems affecting the body. But, for her, the quality of the councillors is also an issue.

"I've seen persons in the KSAC who have not been able to perform," she said. According to the councillor, there is a culture of non-performance that pervades the KSAC.

During the lead-up to the Local Government elections, both the Government and the Opposition have sought to attract more capable candidates to run in the elections. Part of this effort is to have persons who can make the transition from being councillors to political representatives at the national level.

Both Mr. McKenzie and Mrs. Brown-Burke are also in favour of cutting the link between the central Government and the Local Government system, arguing that this curtails the ability of the local authorities and councillors to carry out their functions.

ENTRENCHED

They echoed the calls coming from several quarters, for the Local Government system to be entrenched in the Constitution. Mr. McKenzie pointed to the recent controversy over the transfer of the poor relief department from the KSAC.

Mayor Atkins said she was forced by Local Government Minister, Portia Simpson Miller to sign an order turning over the department to the Labour and Social Security Ministry. This sparked outrage among councillors, who argued that the development signalled the lack of independence of the KSAC.

But while there is a clear admission that the KSAC is faltering, all is not lost. According to Mr. Greene, improvements have taken place in recent years. He said that under his stewardship, the KSAC has implemented a number of measures which seek to boost its earnings to help it deliver some of its services more efficiently.

Two of these initiatives include the collection of fees from parking lots in New Kingston and the divestment of the abattoir.

INITIAL ATTEMPT

The Town Clerk reminds that when he made the initial attempt to collect fees from the parking lots, there were those who argued that it could not be done. However, after careful consultation with his lawyers, he made the move.

"Now it's a cash cow for us," he said. The parks, bring in for the KSAC about $500,000 per month.

To help improve the efficiency of the KSAC, Senator McKenzie suggested the creation of a municipal court to deal with matters relating to Local Government. According to him, cases dealing with violations of building codes are often stalled for long periods in the regular court system.

This, he said, was a major contributor to the continued erection of buildings which do not conform to set standards.