TRELAWNY, Jamaica – Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie has announced that the first allocation of $200 million will be made available for the cleaning of public cemeteries across the country once the new municipal administrations settle down.

There are 39 public cemeteries on the island.

McKenzie argued that complaints that some cemeteries have run out of space stem from neglect over time.

“The first in a drawdown of some $200 million will be made available, as soon as the new administration settles down, for the cleaning of public cemeteries right across the country so that we can have a greater knowledge as to the state of public cemeteries,” McKenzie said.

He argued that “in the request for closure you need to say what are the alternative arrangements that will be put in place to facilitate burials”.

“When a request is made to the minister to close a public cemetery you can’t just send [it] to the minister to say that there is no more space in the cemetery to bury,” the local government minister said.

He was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for councillors and mayor at the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Thursday.

Councillor C Junior Gager was returned as mayor of Falmouth and chairman of the TMC, while Jonathan Bartley was elected as his deputy.

The TMC is made up of nine councillors: six from the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and three from the People’s National Party.