Delancy urges more women to enter representational politics
NEWLY MINTED Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, Councillor Danree Delancy, says the parish of Westmoreland has created history in that three women will be serving as councillors in the municipal corporation at the same time.
Delancy, who was elected chairman of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) yesterday, encouraged women to immerse themselves in representational politics and to use this historic opportunity to step forward and seek political support both at the local and central-government level.
“I am, therefore, encouraging our women in Westmoreland to take what is happening here today as a form of encouragement. Let it stimulate your minds politically so as to get you involved in representation al politics ,” Delancy said while delivering his maiden address as mayor of Savanna-la-Mar.
Three women are among the 14 councillors elected in the WMC.
Two of those women are Joan Bahadur and Julia Chang of the People’s National Party (PNP).
The third female could not be sworn in yesterday as a result of a magisterial recount taking place to determine whether Dawnette Foster, councillor-elect of the Jamaica Labour Party, or Abigail Malcolm, the PNP candidate, has won the Cornwall Mountain division.
“I think this augurs well for our politics, both locally and nationally, (because) when you go to political meetings, most times women outnumber the men, but when you go to Parliament or to the various councils, the men far outnumber the women,” the Savanna-la-Mar mayor noted.
In the last administration of the WMC, Foster was the lone female rubbing shoulders with 13 men.
CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
Delancy admitted that the environment in which councillors are operating can be very challenging at times.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are operating in a very challenging environment, an environment in which much is demanded of local representatives and the local authorities,” he stated.
According to the WMC’s chairman, councillors could be in a better place if the issue of localgovernment reform was moving at a faster pace.
“Despite much talk about localgovernment reform, which has been going on from in the ‘90s, enough action has not gone into the process,” said Delancy, the veteran councillor.
“I see where the local authorities need more autonomy over its jurisdictions (because) oftentimes, the hands of our councillors and that of the local authorities [are tied],” he continued.
He noted that while he was prepared to ensure that proper accountability is done in how funds are being spent by the corporation, the time has come for a greater level of funding for the island municipalities from the central government.
“We encourage our citizens and residents every year to pay their property taxes, and for sometime now, Westmoreland has been in the top five parishes when it comes to the payment of property tax,” Delancy added.
He further shared that Westmoreland has, on a number of occasions, occupied the numberone position as the parish that collected the most money for property tax.
“What little is remitted to us by the central government is clearly not sufficient to take on the task at hand, so I am calling on the central government to look into the matter of making more of what is generated in the various parishes (or municipalities) available so that more can be done for our people,” he pleaded.