Kingston mayor warns NaRRA Act may sideline KSAMC and let minister decide planning

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby has cautioned that the newly enacted National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Act 2026 may materially erode the powers of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).

During a council sitting, Swaby pressed members to read the law carefully, saying its consequences for local administration would be swift and far-reaching. “It’s a piece of legislation that this council must take seriously and understand fully, because its implications for local government in Jamaica and for the corporation in particular are significant and immediate,” Swaby said.

He recalled that the KSAMC operates as a statutory regulator with responsibilities that include planning approvals, building standards, public health oversight and infrastructure stewardship. In his assessment, NaRRA alters how local bodies and central government relate when regulatory choices are made.

Swaby singled out Sections 21 and 22. Under Section 21, he said, NaRRA can call the corporation together and impose deadlines for inspections, evaluations and decisions on applications the authority submits. “Under Section 21, NaRRA may convene this corporation and set timelines and deadlines within which we must complete inspection, evaluation, decisions, and applications submitted by the authority,” Swaby said.

Section 22, he went on, allows NaRRA to send written instructions on how the KSAMC must treat those files—including directions to adjust or waive zoning rules, to move ahead even when another agency has not yet offered a recommendation, and to depend on prior standard-design approvals rather than carry out a fresh independent review. “Under Section 22, NaRRA may issue a written directive to this corporation specifying how we must process those applications, including directives that require us to modify or make exceptions to zoning requirements, to proceed with consideration and application even where another body recommendation has not yet been given, and to rely on previously granted approval from standard designs rather than conducting independent assessment,” he added.

The mayor also flagged Sections 23 and 24, which he said enable NaRRA to ask the minister for a “stepping order” when the corporation does not obey directives. “In plain terms, the minister can make our regulatory decisions for us, override conditions which have attached to approval or grant approvals we have declined to give and there is no requirement in legislation that such order be made public, gazetted or reported to Parliament,” Swaby said.

He further challenged the Act’s transparency safeguards, observing that such orders are not required to be published, gazetted or reported to Parliament. “An authority appointed by the prime minister can direct how the KSAMC exercises statutory planning and building regulatory functions and if we do not comply, the minister— not a court, not an independent tribunal— can simply step in and make the decision himself with the full force of the law and the public needs never know it happened,” he explained.

Swaby said the worries extend past the KSAMC, citing objections from more than 28 civil society organisations and governance advocates before the Bill became law. “They were raised clause by clause with specific legislative remedies by the parliamentary Opposition which identified substantive concerns and proposed amendments to address them,” he said. “It is deeply unfortunate that the Government in possession of those concerns from multiple credible sources chose not to accept the majority of the valid amendments proposed.”

He closed by urging councillors to study the legislation on their own and grasp what it means for local governance. “Councillors, I raise this to inform you. This council must be clear-eyed about the legal environment in which we will operate. I ask you to go do your own reading to understand the broader implications of the Bill,” Swaby said.