Abuse of power
WHAT WE are witnessing in the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)-controlled St James Municipal Corporation is the barefaced abuse of power. It is deeply concerning that the corporation voted on Thursday to boot two People’s National Party (PNP) councillors for missing meetings without notice.
Councillors Sylvan Reid and Gladstone Bent were absent from meetings in March, April, and May, allegedly without tendering the requisite notice. The JLP holds 13 seats to the PNP’s four in that municipal council.
If we consider that these three months coincided with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when life and death were hanging in the balance, when the Disaster Risk Management Order was enforced to ensure that persons of the vulnerable age group remained in lockdown, we could easily conclude that this action was municipal overreach during a time of crisis.
Bearing in mind that one of the men is reported to be over 65 and both are said to have underlying health conditions, it seems clear that JLP councillors saw an opportunity to undertake a partisan manoeuvre, and they grabbed it.
It is eerily reminiscent of the old-style partisan shenanigans that have poisoned our politics for so long. This coronavirus has tested all systems, including the economic and political. While the business of local and central government must go on as if in normal times, we know only too well that we live in extraordinary times when all that is normal is being constantly challenged. The coronavirus has changed the way we live, work, worship, and even mourn; working from home and using electronic means to attend meetings have become commonplace.
We have found ourselves in uncharted legal terrain as we try to navigate this virus. We expect the JLP councillors to stoutly defend their actions by citing Section 30 (1B) of the Local Governance Act, which says: “If a person elected to the office of mayor or councillor ... is absent from three consecutive ordinary meetings of the council without the leave of council ..., that person shall, thereupon, become disqualified immediately and shall cease to hold the office.”
Yes, they were acting according to the law, but did they make any accommodation or special arrangement for persons within the vulnerable group, as identified by the Ministry of Health and Wellness? We stoutly believe that law and order should not be compromised, but we can’t help thinking about citizens of Salt Spring and Catadupa, who are now without a seat at the municipal table. If this decision stands, the next step would be to hold by-elections to fill those vacancies, a requirement that may neatly fit into the category of unnecessary expenditure.
FINDING BALANCE
How, though, do we strike a balance between protecting the health of the nation and ensuring that the people are appropriately represented when their business is being discussed, when funds are being disbursed, and when decisions that affect their lives are being made?
It is instructive that the motion to dismiss the councillors was supported by all the JLP members, with no one questioning the fairness of the action or suggesting an examination of mitigating circumstances. Overall, the rate of absenteeism in Government is not to be encouraged, and some members do have dismal records; however, we feel that in this instance, discretion should have been applied.
We cannot remain mute in the face of what looks like an abuse of power. We trust that good sense will prevail and the necessary accommodations made to have the councillors back at work.
We must rise above partisan politics and band together to defeat this virus.