Government of Jamaica
Meet and learn about His Worship the Mayor, Councillor
Andrew A. Swaby
Meet our new Deputy Mayor, Senator & Councillor Delroy H. Williams, CD who is working earnestly to make Jamaica a better place.
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Get to know our long list of councilors and see which one is serving near you.
To meet the local needs of the citizens of Kingston and St. Andrew by providing effective and efficient services to enhance the quality of life by:
To be recognized as the leading innovative Local Authority in Jamaica by 2015 and beyond, with professionalism, transparency and integrity as our hallmark.
The Beautiful City of Kingston (Home of the KSAMC):
is pregnant with a rich cultural heritage, Kingston is blessed with a number of historical sites, vacation ‘hot spots’ and a haven for day and night entertainment.
This includes the imposing Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Cathedral, the historic Ward Theatre and the famous National Stadium, stomping ground of Jamaica’s world renowned athletes.
The affairs of the Council are managed by full time administrative staff responsible for policy implementation and a Political Directorate responsible for policy formulation.
The largest city of Jamaica, Kingston is located on the south-eastern coast of the island. It faces the 7th largest natural harbour in the world and is protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.
Kingston, was founded in July 22, 1692, on Colonel Samuel Barry’s Hog Crawle as a refuge for the survivors of the June 7th ,1692 earthquake, that destroyed two-thirds of the nearby city of Port Royal and causing the death of about three thousands persons. The survivors of this massive earthquake fled to an area across the harbour then known as the Liguanea Plains, named after the giant Iguana. The Plains was a 530 acres property owned initially by Colonel Samuel Barry and was used as a hog pen.
Sometime in the early 1660s Colonel Barry sold the property to Colonel William Beeston. Colonel William Beeston owned the entire Liguanea Plains until 1692, the year the massive earthquake destroyed the wealthiest and most populous English town in the new World.
The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) became a corporate body as a result of the amalgamation of the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew in 1923, when by virtue of Law 3 of 1923, they were merged into a single Municipal Unit.
By 1924 the new Municipal Authority was elected led by the Honourable H.A. Laselve Simpson, solicitor, legislator, able polemicist and one of the leading advocates of the amalgamation. He became the first mayor of the new metropolis, having previously served as Mayor of the City of Kingston from 1913-1916.
The new council comprised eight (8) Elected Councillors, four (4) Co-opted Aldermen and four (4) Ex-Officio Members, namely the Elected Members of the Legislative Council for the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew, the Director of Public Works and the Superintending Medical Officer. The council established its office at 24 Church Street where the Council Chamber is still located. The Head Office of the Corporation was removed to the Kingston Mall at 1-3 King Street in October 1977.
The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) continues to guide the growth and development of the Corporate Area, despite the many challenges it faces. With a population of nearly 700,000 and an area of just over 185 square miles, the municipality is ranked as the commercial capital of Jamaica and the epicentre of interest for locals and visitors alike.
Beneath the waters of Port Royal lies a sunken city more than 300 years old. Port Royal is possibly the most important under water archaeological site in the Western Hemisphere. Once known as the richest and wickedest city in the world, Port Royal's history stretches back to Jamaica’s indigenous inhabitants, the Tainos. It was first used by the Tainos as a fishing camp. When the Spaniards arrived in Jamaica in 1650, they used Port Royal for cleaning, refitting and caulking of their sailing vessels. In 1655, England sent a fleet under the command of Admirals Penn and Venebles to capture Hispaniola.
The mission failed and Penn and Venables decided to move on to capture the less fortified and sparsely populated island of Jamaica. The strategic location and excellent natural harbour quickly proved its worth. The British quickly constructed a fort along the harbour to strengthen the defences of the island. The town that developed around the fort, was named Port Royal in 1660. Even though Port Royal had Fort Charles and various other smaller forts for protection, the fear of Spanish attack still existed. As a result,the administration of the town invited pirates and buccaneers to settle in Port Royal. This was to ensure that a constant supply of ships and fighting men were always at hand.
The Ward Theatre was presented as a gift to the city of Kingston in 1912 by Colonel Charles Ward, then Custos of Kingston. It occupies a site in Downtown Kingston, which has been in continuous use as a theatre since the 1770s. The first was the Kingston Theatre and the second was the Theatre Royal which was destroyed in the 1907 earthquake.
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This Court House was built in 1807 and was approved by the Parish Vestry Committee in the following year. The Court House was repaired in 1882 due to damage by a storm and two years later was repaired and repainted. The building was not damaged in the 1907 earthquake.During the Second World War, the building was occupied by Imperial Censors. It was also the venue for the Second Junior Centre by the Institute of Jamaica and this was officially opened on December 12, 1941, and remained open at this site for over forty years.
In 1907, 800 people died in another earthquake known as the 1907 Kingston earthquake, destroying nearly all the historical buildings south of Parade in the city. That was when a restriction of no more than 60 feet (18 m) was instituted on buildings in the city centre. These three-story-high buildings were built with reinforced concrete. Construction on King Street in the city was the first area to breach this building code.
Coke Methodist Church was built in 1840 and named after Thomas Coke, the father of the Methodist Missions. The church opened in a period of great hostility towards missionary activity. Today, it is one of the few remaining examples of churches where slaves worshipped. The church was severely damaged in the 1907 Kingston earthquake that damaged much of Kingston and resulted in the death of over 1000 persons. The current structure which dates back to that time was rebuilt in the basic neo-Gothic style of the original Church.
Coke Methodist Church was built in 1840 and named after Thomas Coke, the father of the Methodist Missions. The church opened in a period of great hostility towards missionary activity. Today, it is one of the few remaining examples of churches where slaves worshipped. The church was severely damaged in the 1907 Kingston earthquake that damaged much of Kingston and resulted in the death of over 1000 persons. The current structure which dates back to that time was rebuilt in the basic neo-Gothic style of the original Church.
To meet the local needs of the citizens of Kingston and St. Andrew by providing effective and efficient services to enhance the quality of life by:
To be recognized as the leading innovative Local Authority in Jamaica by 2015 and beyond, with professionalism, transparency and integrity as our hallmark.
The Political Directorate consists of forty Councillors who are elected to office once every three (3) years through Local Government Elections held under Universal Adult Suffrage. A Mayor and a Deputy Mayor are chosen from the elected Councillors; the Mayor heads the Political Directorate. The political party having the majority of elected members of the Council has the right to select (from their numbers) the person to be Mayor.
The Kingston and St.Andrew Municipal Corporation operates through a system of committees. These committees are responsible for policy formulation on matters ranging from Finance to Discipline. A chairperson heads each committee. A General Purpose Committee consisting of the chairpersons of all committees forms the equivalent of a Cabinet of the Council.
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