PORT MARIA, St Mary — More than $30 million will be pumped into this parish’s economy via various projects being done by the St Mary Municipal Corporation this Christmas. Work will be done across all 12 divisions, chairman of the corporation Richard Creary announced during Thursday’s monthly meeting.

“As is customary this time of the year, the St Mary Municipal Corporation will be injecting some significant funding into the economy of St Mary. Just off the top of my head, I can confidently say that somewhere in excess of $30 million will be pumped into our local economy in terms of Christmas work,” he said, noting that the initiative is different from the one associated with Members of Parliament.

Creary said the municipality’s programme will not only result in improvement in communities, but will also provide temporary employment for a number of people, enabling them greater purchasing power this festive season.

“You should see some significant work being done in every division across the parish. Apart from that, it is a significant injection in terms of funding provided for those persons who, without the corporation and the work that we are going to be doing, might otherwise not have had those funds to carry out whatever activities they would want to for the holiday season. So don’t take our roles lightly,” Creary said.

He further disclosed that workers under the programme will be paid prior to Christmas, adding that councillors, by now, should have advised the corporation about the projects they wish to be pursued in their respective divisions.

In the meantime, Creary, who is also councillor for the Richmond Division (Jamaica Labour Party), lauded Local Government minister Desmond McKenzie for his ministry’s increased allocation towards the Christmas programme.

According to him, the ministry this year contributed $600,000 towards each of the councillor’s programmes for the festive season.

“Minister McKenzie, since he has become minister, has really assisted councillors in so many ways,” Creary said. “I can remember the days when we used to get $50,000 or $100,000 from previous ministers [towards our Christmas programmes] — and I think it went up to the most $150,000. Minister McKenzie has consistently provided us with significant funding not only during the Christmas period, but right throughout the year and I would like to just acknowledge Minister McKenzie for the treatment of councillors.”