Hanover road to be named in honour of DK Duncan
THE MAIN thoroughfare from Sandy Bay to Montpelier in Hanover Eastern is to be named in honour of the constituency’s former Member of Parliament Dr D.K. Duncan, who died last year.
This follows the passing of a resolution at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) after being presented to the meeting by HMC CEO David Gardner and tabled for debate.
The motion was moved by Councillor Andria Dehaney-Grant, the deputy mayor and councillor for the Sandy Bay division, in which the roadway is located. It was seconded by Marvell Sewell, councillor for the Green Island division.
The resolution named several roadways throughout the constituency, which it claimed were repaired because of the strong representation by Duncan, who served two terms as member of parliament from 2007 to 2016. It also stated that the late politician had positively impacted the lives of many Jamaicans, particularly those of Hanover Eastern.
With only six of the seven elected councillors present, there was a lengthy debate on the credibility of Duncan’s achievements in
the constituency as cited. It sparked several concessions and corrections on the final document, which was voted on and approved.
The three present councillors from the People’s National Party (PNP) majority voted to support the motion, while one of the three Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) minority councillors voted against it. The other two abstained.
Councillor Devon Brown, who leads the JLP minority, told the meeting that he would have supported the motion but on condition that the credit given to Duncan for the restoration of some of the roads in the motion be withdrawn because, according to him, Duncan did not play a role in the restoration of those roads.
Asked by Mayor Sheridan Samuels to point out the roads of concern, Brown named the Haddington, Friendship and Copse main roads.
Samuels asked CEO Gardner to make the necessary corrections, following which he called for a vote.
“Remember I said that I will support the naming, but you must tidy up the document,” Brown insisted, following which he and Councillor Fearon Decarish abstained from voting.
The motion, which was adopted, was supported by the three PNP councillors – Samuels, DehaneyGrant and Sewell – while two of the three JLP councillors abstained and the other opposed.
The resolution will now be forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government for approval and circulation to the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation for endorsement and action.