Danger! Drivers going up the hillside on Mannings Hill Road, St. Andrew, have to be extremely cautious. One bad move and they could end up in the rocky ravine below. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

SYNOPSIS OF THE SITUATION

The tale of the Mannings Hill Road was first highlighted in June. A huge section of the road has collapsed. Besides that, travelling on the road, especially at night, is a task that should be approached with extreme caution as the breakaway is big enough to gobble up a whole car. When the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation was contacted back in June, it said that the road fell under the purview of the National Works Agency (NWA).

WHAT'S THE STATUS?

Colin Morrison, senior communications manager at the NWA, said the agency has looked at the condition of the road and the retaining wall and that it is to be addressed as a part of a critical retaining wall programme. He said he was unable to state the starting date for the repairs but that the Mannings Hill Road condition was definitely on the agenda of the programme and will be addressed soon.

Sorry, Mr. Morrison, that is not good enough! Such a weak explanation will not suffice because people's lives are at risk.

It has been close to six months and the NWA has failed to deal with the matter. Shame, shame, shame on you NWA! People's lives are at risk and the works agency has seemingly failed to grasp that fact. The Minister of Water, Housing, Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, needs to step in and do something for the people of this country, since the NWA is not able to act on its own.