Residents across Kingston and St. Andrew are expressing mounting frustration with their municipal corporation’s chronic unresponsiveness, even as the authority appeals for patience during ongoing technical difficulties. The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) recently acknowledged switchboard problems in a public notice, assuring constituents that technical teams were working to restore communication channels while promising to address complaints promptly upon receipt.
The corporation directed citizens to alternative communication methods via email at directoradmin.services@cwjamaica.com or customerservice@ksamc.gov.jm. However, this technical explanation has failed to placate residents who describe years of systemic neglect regarding building code enforcement and developer violations.
The discontent intensified following January comments from KSAMC Senior Building Inspector Duane Allison, who publicly encouraged Jamaicans to utilize the municipality’s complaint system for reporting building breaches. Allison detailed multiple reporting avenues including the KSAMC website’s ‘Report Breaches’ section and dedicated hotlines at (876) 967-0585/4195.
Shakera, a resident who spoke with the Jamaica Observer, expressed astonishment at these recommendations, revealing her two-year struggle with unresponsive communication channels. ‘If you’re lucky enough to reach the operator, they transfer you to the building department and nine to 10 times, nobody answers,’ she recounted, describing endless call cycles that rarely produced action beyond token acknowledgments.
In Beverly Hills, the citizens’ association reported rampant violations including illegal Sunday construction, missing permits, and environmental disruption. A representative noted that Sunday construction has become routine despite explicit prohibition under the Building Act (2018), with contractors sometimes claiming special permissions without providing evidence.
The association spokesperson highlighted additional problems including construction dust, noise pollution, and improper dumping of concrete onto public roads. ‘Residents have to check camera footage themselves to figure out which truck did it. That shouldn’t be our job,’ she emphasized.
Sandhurst Crescent residents represented by a community spokesperson described accelerated construction without transparency or notice. While not opposing development fundamentally, they expressed concerns about absent notifications, unclear urban planning, and unanswered questions regarding fire safety, emergency vehicle access, and sewage capacity for new structures.
‘One KSAMC officer told us they don’t have enough building inspectors,’ the representative revealed, questioning how adequate oversight could occur given resource constraints. Multiple attempts by the Jamaica Observer to contact Mayor Andrew Swaby for response yielded no results.
While residents hope restored communications might improve responsiveness, widespread skepticism remains as most concerns significantly predate the current technical outage.