Tempers flare at Clarendon Municipal Corporation meeting

There was a more than five-minute standoff between May Pen mayor, Winston Maragh, and councillor for the Hayes division, Scean Barnswell, as tempers flared at Thursday's sitting of the Clarendon Municipal Corporation.

The contention arose after Chief Executive Officer, Rowan Blake, presented a letter that was addressed to Prime Minister Andrew Holness requesting his presence at Thursday's meeting of the municipality. 

The prime minister did not attend.

Referencing the letter, Barnswell suggested that infrastructural deterioration across the parish should have been mentioned in the letter. 

The mayor stated that the issues mentioned in the letter did not represent an exhaustive list.

Barnswell,  however, was in the process of listing some of the infrastructure failures when the mayor suggested it was meaningless to address the matter in the prime minister's absence.

Barnswell disagreed and continued making his point.

The mayor subsequently ordered Barnswell to sit, an order which Barnswell refused to obey.

The two had a standoff that lasted more than five minutes until Barnswell took his seat.

- Olivia Brown

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