Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, has highlighted the need for Negril to have its own local authority, which will enable the town to better manage its affairs.
Holness, who was speaking recently to members of the Negril business community and other stakeholders, said the resort town has outgrown its current governance structure, posing challenges both to infrastructure and administration.
“Negril as a town is growing far beyond its infrastructure, it is also growing far beyond the system set up for local governance. Our system is that the towns are within a parish and the boundaries determine which local authority has control over the town,” Holness said. “We will now have to do the necessary consultations and make the necessary legislative changes to give Negril its own municipality. Towns and cities must be managed and managed from a local level,” he added.
Holness said that due to the growth and expansion of Negril, the town has crossed over from Westmoreland into Hanover, leaving the question as to who is in charge.
“Based on all the communications I have received the stakeholders want to do things for themselves in Negril. I know there will be a challenge because of the parish boundaries, but we will have to work that out.
Currently, both Westmoreland and Hanover can take ownership, leaving the question as to who really is in charge,” he added.Holness said that while there have been discussions on the matter in the past, it was time to give Negril its own municipality.
“I know when we talk about this, especially for those who don’t live in Negril, there are indeed questions as to why we would want to do this and upset the governance architecture that currently exists,” the prime minister added.
“Where the problem lies is where the solution should be. If the proper structure is put in place, I am convinced you could see an improvement in how the town is managed. Negril is going through what Portmore went through…to manage its affairs.
“Any superior authority should empower the residents to do things for themselves. Negril has also outgrown not only its physical infrastructure but its management structure,” he noted.
