Congrats LSDP
The hard work and determination has paid off, hence the creation of the final document for the Local Sustainable Development Plan (LSDP). The finished product was handed over to a very pleased Chairman of the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation and Mayor of Spanish Town, Councillor Norman Scott, at a Handing Over Ceremony, held in the scenic Emancipation Square, Spanish Town on Wednesday, November 23, 2016.
Ms. Joan Sampson, representing the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development said, “the Ministry is super-honoured to be a part of the presentation of St. Catherine LSDP, ‘Our way Forward’. She said this will be the third parish to now complete the LSDP. This thrust she said, must be continued in all the Municipalities and the other parishes that have started this process; this includes the Clarendon, St. Thomas, Westmoreland and Trelawny Municipal Corporations. All are fostering sustainable development for our communities and our parish and we applaud and continue to support them”.
Principal Director at the National Spatial Data Management Division, Mr. Rohan Richards, keynote speaker, in his address, said, “As we look at the development of the LSDP which is being launched today, I think that this is more than a bullet start for the parish of St. Catherine. As such, each parish, each town, each locale, must play their part in the national development process and through citizen participation, implement initiatives such as these put forward in the LSDP. He said the LSDP framework is designed to assist our Local Municipal Corporations and communities of people to advance to sustainable development agenda at the local level, right across Jamaica”.
It has been a journey, said Mr. Andre Griffiths, Director of Planning at the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation, who led the thrust from this authority. He said yes we have a lot of background data for St. Catherine but the journey has just begun, as there is the need for further implementation and continuation of the process. He conveyed special thanks to several Agencies who were instrumental in the data collection process.
Brief presentations were later on made by representatives from Funders, Sugar Transformation Unit and Cariled. The National Housing Trust, also a funder was unavoidably absent.
The LSDP, having worked over a two-year timeline to complete five significant phases of collaborative data collection within the parish of St. Catherine will now assist potential investors and certainly pave the way for long range planning for sustainable development within this local planning authority’s jurisdiction.
Well done team!
