HANOVER, JAMAICA: Settle those differences, PNP official tells members.....supporters demonstrating in Lucea on Wednesday, calling on their Member of Parliament Ian Hayles to step down.

BY MARK CUMMINGS Editor-at-Large Western Bureau cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, March 30, 2014

LUCEA, Hanover — Hyacinth Shakes-Warren, the People's National Party (PNP) Hanover West constituency chairman, has called for an amicable resolution to the bitter conflict that she said could destroy the governing party's machinery in the constituency.

People's National Party (PNP) supporters demonstrating
 in Lucea on Wednesday, calling on their Member of
 Parliament Ian Hayles to step down.

"I hope that for the party's sake the matter will be resolved amicably and they will stop this whole foolishness which is not good for the party," Shakes-Warren told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

She was referring to a slew of charges and counter charges between supporters loyal to Member of Parliament for the area, Ian Hayles and Lucea Mayor Shernett Haughton, who is also the chairman of the PNP-controlled Hanover Parish Council.

Haughton, who represents the Green Island Division, has for several weeks been under pressure from the majority of councillors at the council to step down as chairman.

The councillors, who seemingly have the support of Hayles, have said that they are dissatisfied with Haughton's leadership of the local authority and have vowed to unseat her.

Three weeks ago, the monthly general meeting of the Hanover Parish Council fell through due to the lack of a quorum, as the controversy surrounding Haughton's leadership of the local authority appeared to be deepening.

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am. However, just over an hour later, the mayor entered the chambers and thanked members of various State-run agencies, Parish Development Committee representatives and members of the media for coming out. She latter stated that the meeting had fallen through because of the lack of a quorum.

Then, just over a week ago at a workers meeting at the Green Island High School, Hayles made several pronouncements -- deemed by many to be disrespectful to the mayor- as he sought to explain the reasons for the impasse between the councillors and the mayor.

The MP's pronouncements have since been condemned by the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), as well as the Association of Local Government Authorities (ALGA), who have called on Hayles to apologise to the embattled Mayor. more