Corruption at KSAMC

 

If the new Mayor of Kingston, Andrew Swaby carries through on half of the promises he has made to residents of Westlake Avenue in Richmond Park, it will not only be a breath of fresh air in that it would indicate that he is serious about maintaining law and order at the municipality, but also  a signal that he is not corrupt like many who have preceded him there!

To jog your memory, residents in that section of the beleaguered community of Richmond Park, protested in late July, against a commercial operation which had started construction of a site there, to establish a car dealership in their community.

As a result of the residents’ action, on the 31^st July 2025, the KSAMC, issued a stop order against the miscreant.

The commercialization of residential areas, foremost in places such as Richmond Park, Eastwood Park and Bedford Park, has been a long-standing problem for home owners in those areas.

 And regardless of who has led the KSAC, (by any other name!) nothing has been done to stop the illegal practice so far.

It is not that home owners  in these areas are bad minded or even anti-capitalist, but the irrefutable fact is that commercial activity in residential areas, causes the property value to depreciate.

It also causes great discomfort for the home owners as it  destroys the roads and leads to increases the incidence of crime. For the roads in residential areas were never built sturdy enough to withstand the ravages of commercial traffic and when businesses set up in an area, it is impossible for even the most vigilant residents or even community monitoring groups, to keep an eye on those coming in an out, hence crime inevitably increases.

I am speaking as one who had to live with that problem for decades despite the numerous complaints to KSAC, demonstrations etc. For as the first operator to destroy our area said when we told him he would have to cease and desist, “money talk”.

And because money talks and corruption has always been rampant at KSAC, not only has that business prospered untouched for many decades, but also, others seeing that they could get away with it, also moved in until we were totally overwhelmed.

At Bedford Park, added to the problem that corruption enabled, (and most likely sections of Eastwood Park and Richmond Park as well), there was also the political element. For lo and behold, one of the main law breakers was a close friend of one of our prime minister’s, who was a frequent visitor to parties at his premises.

So, the destruction of our once quiet residential area, escalated.

I am therefore watching with interest to see if Mayor Andrew Swaby will just be another political blower of hot air, or if the laws will finally be enforced by the KSAMC, so the residents of Westlake Avenue and other residential areas can finally achieve their rights to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes.

Only time will tell if its only bribes that can drive action's at the KSAMC or if under Andrew Swaby, it will be the laws that do.

Another nine-day wonder?

 I wonder if that excellent investigation by the Integrity Commission which unearthed the alleged corruption at KSACMC and the top executive at NWC, will cause the Holness administration and its minions to stop harassing/maligning that institution and allow it to do its work in peace!

Or if the spotlight now turned on the corruption at the Building Department of the double-dealing KSACMC will be just a talking point or will something be finally done about that institution that has caused nothing but grief for many struggling homeowners in the corporate area?

Me, hold my breath?

No way.

I am of course referring to the Integrity Commission’s exposure which caused NWC top boss Mark Barnett to be sent on leave by the NWC and now face prosecution.

The 'delinquency' of the Building Department is not new. And it has cost the Municipality, homeowners, and taxpayers, dearly over the decades.

Right now, the spotlight on that department has to do with new developments in upscale areas but the headaches the department caused over the years, have long been visible in places like Richmond Park, Eastwood Park, and Bedford Park.

I resided in Bedford Park for decades, and their refusal to prosecute businesses that operate there illegally caused nothing but frustration for us forever, despite the fact that the breaches were reported ad nauseam. 

Not to mention the unnecessary cost to taxpayers in general. For, the commercialization of residential areas causes the rapid deterioration of the roads which were never built to the standard necessary to withstand commercial activity. So, on the rare occasions when the authorities repair these roads, it’s the general public that has to foot the bill.

Why?  Because “Money talk and bull#&@%** walk!”

That is what the first operator to breach our covenant told residents when he turned his home into a heavy-duty commercial operation and a delegation approached him. And yes, the KSACMC refused to do anything about it, so more and more illegal operators followed suit until the road became almost undrivable. The entire area deteriorated and life became miserable for homeowners despite regular reports to the so-called regulators, the KSACMC.

“Money talk and bull#&@%*...walk.”

As a victim of that corrupt municipality, I know them well. Yup,  and there have been many successive administrations at that sewer pit.

I couldn’t believe it when I recently heard an apologist saying the problem at KSAMC was that they didn’t have the funds to employ enough building inspectors!

Do you know what the penalty for operating businesses in residential areas is? If my memory serves me correctly, it is in the range of $25,000 per day once the infractions continue. And they were always reported and totally visible!

But while the violations continued for all to see, the KSACMC happily gave up that revenue because individuals at the monitoring and enforcing institution were being paid millions not to enforce the laws. So, as the neighborhoods became run down, people who had worked long and hard to own a home had to move out of sheer exasperation.

The unprosecuted violations over the decades elicited an occasional report in instigative journals, but successive administrations would do nothing about the disgraceful and outright corruption at that municipality, so one can only assume they are all complicit!

Now it continues, not only with the commercialization of residential areas but also with rampant building violations in apartment development in areas with large lots.

That’s what the much-maligned Integrity Commission has brought to the fore by the exposing of the NWC boss and “delinquency” at the Municipality.

Will the exposure lead to any cleansing of the stables at KSACMC?

 I doubt it, for we are notorious for our love of nine-day wonders followed by a “bagga mout,” but no action is usually taken.

Many decades ago, it was reported that the late Sir Alexander Bustamante had once disbanded the KSAC because of the entrenched corruption there. After my experience with that institution, as far as I am concerned, the time has long passed for another cleansing there.

If the latest Integrity Commission's Report leads to that action, they will be more than well worth their existence, despite the determination by senior politicians to destroy them.