New St James custos calls for ethics campaign.
BISHOP CONRAD Pitkin, the newly installed custos rotulorum of St James, has issued a call to justices of the peace, the business community, and other stakeholders to join him in a campaign for ethics in order to restore peace and good order to the crime-plagued western parish.
Pitkin made the invitation while speaking during his installation ceremony at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall on Thursday, shortly after receiving his commission from Governor General Sir Patrick Allen.
“The time is right for us to begin an ethical campaign, and I am extending an invitation to you – justices of the peace, the Church, business leaders, professionals, school principals, teachers, and parents – to let us start this campaign with the tagline ‘Unashamedly Ethical,’“said Pitkin.
DECISIVE LEADERSHIP
“This is a time that calls for decisive and transformational leadership, the kind of leadership that will instill hope in our citizens, and at the same time, create synergies that will unite us as one people with a common goal to restore St James to a place of peace and tranquility,” the custos added.
St James is currently under a state of public emergency, declared by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on January 18, in an effort to curb the level of crime and violence that has been plaguing the parish in recent years. Last year, St James had a record 335 murders, the highest of all the nation’s police divisions and a significant chunk of the 1,616 murders recorded in the island.
As part of his overall plan to restore order in the parish, Pitkin also vowed to work on implanting moral values in the youth of St James. “I pledge that in this office, I will work hand in hand with you to continue instilling strong moral values and attitudes in our children and youth for them to be better-prepared citizens,” said Pitkin.
Pitkin replaced Ewen Corrodus, who served as the governor general’s representative in St James for eight and a half years.