DEPUTY MAYOR AFRAID OF SPANISH TOWN
In the midst of brewing tension in Spanish Town, after the threat of a Christmas massacre that has been circulating on social media, the deputy mayor of the town told THE STAR he wants to distance himself from troubles in the Old Capital because he is “fraid like puss”.
Ralston ‘John’ Wilson, who has been in charge of the violenceplagued Spanish Town since Mayor Norman Scott left the island recently, said that he has no interest in wanting to find out about the perils that are promised to hit the Old Capital.
“You don’t fill into something that you can get yourself into trouble, or even lose your life and you don’t know much about it,” Wilson said.
“I am a born countryman and the division that I am responsible for is peaceful,” said Wilson, who represents the Ginger Ridge Division in West Central St Catherine.
“I have never been into any division from I am in politics that create any violence, and when I hear bout gunrunning, mi fraid like puss.”
When THE STAR asked Wilson if it is his job to know about concerns of the people of Spanish Town, this is how he responded. “You think a countryman who don’t know the people round town can go and ask any question, and let them go out there and call your name saying that you are saying this and you are saying that,” Wilson said.
“The mayor knows more about it. He has two bodyguards and I don’t have a soul.”
A voice note, which has been making its way across various social media platforms, indicates that the Old Capital could be in for mayhem as thugs war for control of the divided Clansman gang.
“The man a seh him a come wipe out everything inna the town ... . Spanish Town nah see nuh Christmas,” the message said. “If yuh can avoid the town, avoid the town at all cost.”
Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, who is in charge of the communication arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, said that the police are satisfied that they have enough boots on the ground to deal with the situation in Spanish Town.
“We will continue to maintain our presence there and make our assessments, and if something change, then we will change our approach,” Lindsay said.
Meanwhile, the President of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Warren McDonald, is calling on the citizens of Spanish Town to assist the police in restoring order as the threat could be detrimental to business.
COMMERCE DAMPENED
“People need to communicate to the police. The informer culture, that type of thing cannot work because this will definitely dampen commerce,” McDonald said.
According to McDonald, security cost in Jamaica is 17 per cent of total cost for businesses, which is much higher than the country’s regional competitors.
Wilson said that the people of his division are scared of Spanish Town. “A number of people from the rural side that I know are refusing to go there because of the sort of things that are happening and the types of threats that are circulating,” Wilson said.