KSAMC set to give Fraser-Pryce keys to the city for the second time
KINGSTON, Jamaica — In an unusual move, Mayor Andrew Swaby has announced that the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) will be handing the keys to the city to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce despite the track icon already receiving the symbolic honour in 2008.
The announcement was made at a meeting of the KSAMC on Tuesday. Swaby said Fraser-Pryce will be handed the keys during a ceremony scheduled for Thursday morning at Wolmer’s High.
Should the event transpire, it will be the second time that Fraser-Pryce is handed the keys to the city.
In 2008, the track star was among several Jamaican athletes, including Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown, who were handed the keys to the city by then Kingston’s Mayor, Desmond McKenzie.
Then prime minister Bruce Golding attended the ceremony, lauding Fraser-Pryce and several Jamaican gold medallists for their stellar performance at the Beijing Olympic Games.
It is not immediately clear whether the decision to hand Fraser-Pryce the keys to the city for the second time was an oversight by the KSAMC or whether the corporation is aware that the honour has already been accorded to the track legend.
Protocol experts say the handing of the keys to the city is usually a once-in-a-lifetime honour accorded to celebrated personalities who are being recognised.
The honour suggests that the individual is welcome to enter and exit the city freely with relevant courtesies extended to them.