Mayor accuses government of starving KSAMC of funds

 

Mayor of Kingston, Andrew Swaby, is accusing the Minister of Local Government of starving the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation of funds, forcing the corporation to carry expenses that the central government should be paying.

 

Speaking at the monthly meeting of the corporation on Tuesday, Mayor Swaby argued that the action of central government has left a growing financial burden on the corporation, threatening its ability to deliver essential services. 

 

He warned that the corporation is now exploring raising its fee structure in order to meet the financial shortfall. 

 

"For the last three years, the subvention from central government for salaries have been below what is required. This shortfall has placed even more pressure on our operation. The government often boasts about public sector reclassification and the higher salaries that came with it. But they are not sending the KSAMC the full funds needed to honour those very increases. I understand that this situation doesn't only apply to the KSAMC, but to other municipal corporations. This state of affairs is unsustainable," Mayor Swaby complained.

 

He warned that the corporation may be forced to cut services of residents of the Corporate Area as it struggles to pay its bills and meet its payroll.

 

"The gap has left the corporation carrying costs that should be covered by central government, and each year the shortfall is increasing. It has forced us to pull resources from other obligations, including bills that ought to be paid, just to keep the system running. While we continue to meet our obligations, it has not been easy, and it is important that the council understand this strain. Even with mounting pressures, we have been tightening our tax control measures. This includes the amount we pay for extra hours earned, usually referred to as overtime. We cannot keep a system where productivity during the regular hours are low, but rises

during overtime," he asserted. 

 

The mayor announced that each division of the KSAMC was allocated $2.5 million for the Employment Generation Programme for December, and said he has directed the City Engineer's Department to ensure every project is executed with full transparency and strict accountability at the highest level.