Outraged council staff protest after attack on Powell

Members of Staff of the St James Parish Council protest to vent their anger at Tuesday night's attack on secretary manager, Christopher Powell, at the council's Union Street office in Montego Bay,

Secretary Manager Christopher Powell quit yesterday, hours after his home was riddled with bullets in a late-night attack. He told the Public Services Commission that he would work in any other parish, but not St James.

The attack was immediately condemned by Local Government Minister Portia Simpson Miller, and Mrs Helene Davis- Whyte of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO) as well as the association of Local Government Managers (LGM).

"I view the attempt on the life of Mr Christopher Powell as another sad day in the lives of Jamaicans," Simpson Miller said in a statement last night.

She pointed the finger at "criminal elements. who are intent on creating mayhem".

The Montego Bay police have, in the meantime, launched an investigation into the shooting, which took place at the official residence of the secretary manager at about 12:00 Tuesday night. The Leader Avenue home is located near the official mayor's residence.

JALGO's general secretary, Helene Davis-Whyte, said the incident was the "first time that anyone can recall that a secretary manager. had his/her life threatened by way of an armed attack on his home and person".

"We deplore the act and hope it is not intended to drive fear into local government officers and thus prevent them from carrying out their lawful duties," Davis-Whyte said.