File
Locals, passengers and crew members of the cruise ship, 'Freedom of the Seas', cheer during a sterling performance by internationally acclaimed artiste, Shaggy, at the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal last year August. Tourism is attracting job seekers to St. James.

Mark Titus, Freelance Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

St. James is a rural parish, but its capital, Montego Bay, is number one as far as tourism is concerned. It is also a major employment destination for residents of other western parishes.

Over the years, the parish, and Montego Bay in particular, has been the beneficiary of numerous developmental projects, which have led to a constant rural-urban drift, which has not only led to a strain on social and economic infrastructure, but also to the creation of some 19 informal settlements in Norwood, Glendevon, Flankers, Canterbury, Quarrie and Ros in the parish.

"The issue of migration has worsened and has exacerbated land-capturing in places such as Retirement, Barrett Hall and Shanty Town," says O. Dave Allen, chairman of the Community Organisation for Management and Sustainable Development, "A concerted effort is needed to address this issue."

In a meeting with stakeholders, last Tuesday, the St. James ParishCouncil took the decision to restart the 2014 sustainable local development plan, out of which a development order for the parish is to be drafted. The plan is expected to provide guidelines in relation to land use issues, transportation, utilities and other developmental activity. Some $20 million out of a budget of about 40 million has already been identified.

Workable policy

Land developer and businessman, Mark Kerr-Jarrett, told The Sunday Gleaner that the failure of successive governments to administer any form of workable policy for the agricultural sector in St. James has caused the rural economy to collapse. As a result, residents of rural communities had ventured into developing areas seeking employment. "A lot of the time the people who are migrating to the city are not qualified or just simply unemployable," and "in order to deal with the uncontrollable influx of migrants into St.James, the reinvigoration of the rural economy is crucial; the rural-urban drift must be reversed," he says.

Jarrett believes that if the Government, through the National Housing Trust or the National Housing Development Corporation, should put in the necessary amenities, such as roads and water. "If they are illegal occupiers of the land, they are forced to use illegal means to enforce their tenancy," he reasons, "but if they are regularised, legal occupants they can now demand all the services that come from paying property taxes."

Uncontrolled migration

When contacted, President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Com-merce Pauline Reid says the chamber is concerned about the uncontrolled migration to the Second City. "With the level of development and migration taking place, it is very critical that we ensure that we put the infrastructure and facilities that are necessary to make these developments possible," says Reid.