St. Catherine Municipal Corporation Hails Mr. Seaga

Councillors at the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation paid homage to the former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, during a special sitting on Thursday (June 13).

Mayor of Spanish Town, Councillor Norman Scott, who lead the tributes, noted that Mr. Seaga, who spent more than 40 years as a Member of Parliament and over eight years as head of Government, has left an outstanding legacy of service, which should be emulated.

“Jamaica will be poorer with his loss,” he said.

Minority Leader, Lloyd Grant, noted that the former Prime Minister, who held portfolio responsibilities for Finance and Planning, and Welfare and Development, had made a “tremendous contribution”.

Councillor for the Spanish Town Division, Keneisha Allen Gordon, hailed Mr. Seaga as a “giant and visionary mentor” who ensured that the talents of ordinary Jamaicans could be harnessed for success.

“In 1963, he established the Jamaica festival to showcase, protect and export the Jamaican talent, while providing an avenue for the people to express themselves culturally,” she noted.

For his part, Deputy Mayor, Ralston Wilson, said it was Mr. Seaga “who took up the issue for Councillors to be paid”.

“Mr. Seaga was a bold man and he recommended a salary for Councillors. Where we are today, if it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what would have happened,” he said.

Mr. Seaga was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, serving from November 1980 to February 1989.

He died on May 28 at a hospital in Florida the United States. He was 89 years old.

The State Funeral for Mr. Seaga will be held on Sunday, June 23, beginning at noon, at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, 1 George Headley Drive in Kingston. Interment will follow at National Heroes Park.

A period of mourning will be observed from the morning of Wednesday, June 19 to the evening of Saturday, June 22.