Gov’t agencies scolded for attendance record

Hanover councillors praise JPS for compliance pledge

THE NON-ATTENDANCE of representatives of government bodies at the regular monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) has been criticised by councillors, as only six of 14 listed agencies turned up in February.

Fed-up councillors recently asked the chief executive officer of the HMC, David Gardner, to write to agencies requesting compliance.

The National Works Agency, the National Water Commission, the Hanover Parish Development Committee, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority were named at the February meeting among the noncompliant agencies.

“There are numerous complaints from the people we represent, and when we do not see or hear from these agencies, we are left at a disadvantage,” one councillor told The Gleaner following the last monthly meeting.

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), which was listed among the delinquent agencies at the January 2021 meeting, was present at February’s caucus and presented a plan of action that should improve its attendance record.

Detommie Fuller, area manager of JPS West, told the meeting that her organisation now has in place a technical working committee, comprising senior members from the light and power provider, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, that meets fortnightly to discuss a wide range of issues.

“One of the agreements is that a standard report be submitted to all municipal corporations each month, and so the report that has been submitted for this month is the standard format that all corporations have been receiving since February,” said Fuller.

The announcement was met with approval by the councillors, who said that opening lines of communication made a big difference.