McKenzie says WMC leasing public markets without his knowledge
DESMOND MCKENZIE, minister of local government and community development, says he is disturbed that the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) has been leasing out public markets across the parish without following established protocols.
McKenzie, who toured the facility yesterday along with technical officials from his ministry and the local municipality, including Daniel Lawrence, the member of parliament for the constituency, was shown a letter by Raphiel Williams, purportedly issued to him by the WMC, giving lease and management control of the facility for three years.
“There is no way any responsible mayor or administration can take up what belongs to the taxpayers and just literally give it away without a proper lease arrangement ,” McKenzie said.
“I can’t see how a market like this can be literally given away, ”McKenzie said of the Whitehouse Market located in the constituency of Westmoreland Eastern.
The letter dated March 23, 2023, was seen by The Gleaner and was addressed to Raphiel Williams under the caption‘ Interest to lease Whitehouse Market’ (from) the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation under the signature of Heather Cunningham-Daley, the acting director of finance, on behalf of Marvalyn Pitter, Chief Executive Officer, for a period of three years.
“The company has agreed to grant a Lease Agreement for the property located in Whitehouse Market. Kindly note that a lease arrangement will be prepared and sent for perusal,” read a section of the letter to Williams.
Further, the letter says, “Your Lease Agreement is for three years, with yearly payments of $240,000, which will increase by 7.5 per cent annually.”
McKenzie, who has portfolio responsibility for the island’s public markets, says there are documents within the central ministry indicating that the facility is leased and that based on what he had seen thus far, the protocols involved in disposing of renting or leasing public facilities, vested in the care of the Ministry of Local Government, have been breached.
“I am very disturbed because on my first visit, I asked for a copy of the lease arrangement with the municipal corporation and the ministry. I am now learning that there is no lease arrangement.,” McKenzie told The Gleaner yesterday.
According to the minister, municipal corporations cannot sell, rent, or lease any property unless the Ministry of Local Government assesses the process.
He said the protocol for matters of this nature require that the application is sent to the ministry, and it would then go before the land divestment committee.
“This is a policy of the Government. The committee will give their recommendations to the minister, and he will act on the recommendations,” McKenzie told The Gleaner.
BREACH OF PROTOCOL
“There are no such recommendations or correspondence in the ministry as it relates to this facility in Whitehouse. And this is not the only market in Westmoreland that a lease arrangement has been given without the ministry’s approval and involvement,” McKenzie said.
He noted that the other facility not properly leased is the Little London Market in Westmoreland Western.
Williams told The Gleaner that he has been leasing the market for almost 20 years and that all he has ever received are letters outlining the agreement.
“This is the latest letter that I received, and I have my receipts to show that I have been paying my lease as outlined in the agreement to the parish council,” said Williams, referring to a letter from the WMC.
A female vendor who asked that her identity be withheld, said she pays $10,000 monthly for the shop space she has been occupying in the market for the last two years.
“I pay $10,000 per month. (I’m) not sure what others pay, but I guess they go according to the size of their shops,” the female vendor said during a tour of the facility now under the microscope.
Despite the level of fees being collected by the lessee from market vendors, and what is actually paid over to the corporation, McKenzie promised not to jeopardise Williams’ operation in his quest to get to the bottom of the alleged breach.
“I want to commend him because he has demonstrated a certain level of leadership in terms of what he is doing, and I am giving him the assurance that we will not do anything that will prejudice his position,” the local government minister noted.
“What happens if the administration changes tomorrow morning? What [would] happen to this gentleman ?” McKenzie asked.
Efforts to get a response from Councillor Bertel Moore, who has been chairman of the WMC for the last 17 years, were unsuccessful as calls to his mobile phones went unanswered.
The Savanna-la-Mar mayor also has oversight responsibility for the Whitehouse Division, where the market is located, following the resignation of People’s National Party councillor Valdene Gifford in 2020.