Absence of Superintendent stalls development in St Mary

By Andrew Clunis, Freelance Writer

DEVELOPMENT IS being hampered in St. Mary by the absence of a Superintendent for Road and Works at the Parish Council since September of last year.

The last Superintendent George Smikle returned to St. Catherine in August last year and the vacancy has remained unfilled since, causing a pile up of hundreds of applications for sub-divisions and building plan approvals.

The Gleaner understands that a Superintendent has been appointed for the parish by the Services Commission, but his appointment has been met with opposition from Mayor Fitz Nicholson and 12 PNP councillors. The Council has already collected millions of dollars in fees from persons who are unable to get their documents processed.

The sole JLP Councillor in the parish Bobby Montaque is irate that the appointment of Mr. Dawkins is being blocked.

"The Council must operate its business according to the law. I am calling on the Parish Councils Services Commission to bring Mr. Dawkins to St. Mary in a move to ensure that the law is obeyed by the St. Mary Parish Council," he said.

Mayor Nicholson says the Council has opposed the appointment, on the basis that they needed someone who was competent and able to motivate the staff.

The matter has been of great concern to St. Mary Chamber of Commerce President Huntley Martin.

He said that the situation was quite serious and needed to be addressed immediately.

"The superintendent is needed to sign off on certain developments, as well as to technically guide the Council in its decisions. Without his presence everything is compromised. Right now the Parish Infrastructural Develop-ment Programme is being stalled, building approvals are being held up and subdivision approvals are not being passed," Mr. Martin said.

"I attended a meeting last week, when the matter came up and the Mayor advised the Council that he felt strongly that the Council should be involved in the interview process. But I believe the reason the services commission was given the responsibility for hiring, was that it was intended the post should not be a political appointment," he said.

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