St. James parish council moves to improve service delivery

The St. James Parish Council has commenced a series of quarterly intersectoral fora, to bring together, representatives from all major state agencies, business and civic groups, for dialogue aimed at improving service delivery within the parish.

Addressing the first quarterly meeting held on May 31 at the Oleander Restaurant at Sandals Montego Bay, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, said a team approach is essential for the development of the parish.

He said the sessions will be a “talk shop”, but will find real solutions to be challenges being faced by the agencies that deliver service to citizens, as well as initiate and coordinate plans for the orderly development of the city and the parish.

“The meetings should seek to address the challenges faced by agencies, as well as sensitize the public on development activities to be executed,” Mr. Harris said.

Yesterday’s meeting saw presentations from the health and education sectors, the police, and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

Coming out of the discussions, a decision was taken to increase enforcement of the Anti Litter Act and have persons prosecuted.

Mr. Harris said he will be working on a plan to have some streets in the town centre declared no parking zones for public passenger vehicles. He said that the congestion of a number of roads was choking business activities in the city.

By Garfield L. Angus, JIS Reporter