Question: What do you consider to be your greatest achievements in your constituency?

The focus of political representation in South St Andrew has been education, education, education. The building of the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex and the soon-to-be completed inner-city housing project has made and will make outstanding contributions to the social and economic life of the community. However, the project that gives me the greatest joy has been the remedial learning project. Through this project, we have turned around the Grade Four Assessment results from 80 per cent of the primary school children deemed to be at risk in 2000 to the only 20 per cent deemed to be at risk in 2004.

We would like to use the success of this project to develop a national project to eradicate illiteracy within five years. In addition to the programme there has developed a companion programme called Adult Continuing Education .

Through this programme, former high school dropouts have completed CXC subjects and some have completed tertiary degree programmes at the University of Technology.

Question: What do you consider to be your greatest achievements in your constituency?

South-West St. Andrew includes some of the poorest communities in Jamaica. It is characterised by inadequate infrastructure, including the roads, housing and even water and sewerage. The main housing estates in sections of the constituency were constructed almost 40 years ago.

Those of us representing constituencies such as mine have found it impossible to get the level of resources allocated by Government that would meaningfully address the problems. Dedicated allocations to MPs such as the SESP and the LDP were never designed to address those huge infrastructure investments which would make a significant impact on the quality of life of the residents of those communities.

I have, therefore, concentrated on improving the human capital, which has lifted many young people out of abject poverty to an improved life through education and training. I consider that to be the greatest achievement in South-West St. Andrew. The opportunities for advancement which have been offered have made an impact in many of our communities. Many have grasped those opportunities and are making their mark in several areas of Jamaican professional life.

Question: What do you consider to be your greatest achievements in your constituency?

1. I have successfully led a campaign to remove the vestiges of garrison politics from the East Central St. Andrew constituency and to establish an open democratic practice to allow all voters to exercise their right of choice at elections.

2. My focus has been on education and training and to this end I have worked closely with the school boards, parents and the Ministry of Education to improve the physical infrastructure of the schools within the constituency, and to introduce a wider range of academic courses for students.

The public is aware of the Norman Manley High School's outstanding success in sports. What is not so well known is the academic success they have also achieved and which is reflected in their performance in the Schools' Challenge Quiz.

3. I have built partnerships with civil society to effect improvements throughout the constituency. The Red Hills Oval which was recently opened is an example of this partnership, which will shortly be replicated in Maxfield Park.

4. The annual cultural awards ceremony which I have introduced, serves as a climax for community projects which exemplify the spirit of self-reliance and cooperation and builds on the resourcefulness of the people of the constituency.

5. I have worked with party and community leaders to establish an equitable system for the distribution of the social and economic benefits which accrue to the constituency.

6. I have established a partnership with a group of private sector business persons to encourage the development and expansion of viable, small and microenterprises in the constituency.