People going about their business on a typical day in the St. Elizabeth south west town of Black River, the parish capital. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Rayon Dyer, Gleaner Writer

One of the main issues occupying the minds of the voters in the constituency of St. Elizabeth South West is job creation. They are urging whoever wins the seat in the next general election to come,with projects to create new opportunities.

Little or no water supply, bad farm roads and limited educational opportunities are also of serious concern to the residents of this constituency.

"The new Member of Parliament who will be coming to us after the next general election will have to place a lot of attention on the whole question of job creation. When you look across the four divisions in this constituency and see the number of young people who are unemployed, there has to be a way to get those young minds into productive engagements," said Andrew Jones, a businessman.

Water Issues

Mr. Jones is also concerned about the slow pace of the expansion of water supply across the constituency, both for domestic and agricultural purposes. He noted that there were many districts which were in need of potable water.

"These are basic commodities that are important, not whether one is PNP or JLP, but they go to the heart of good representation for the residents," argued Mr. Jones.

The constituency of St. Elizabeth South West covers the town of Black River, as well as major areas in the parish such as Middle Quarters, Barbary Hall, Beacon, Treasure Beach, Mountainside, Great Bay, Pedro Plains, Crawford and Brompton.

Some 24,350 persons in the constituency are registered to vote in the coming election.

There are three major economic bases in the constituency: small-scale farming, fishing and tourism. However, the construction sector also contributes to the employment capacity of the constituency as does the transportation sector, in the form of route taxis.

The candidates vying for the seat are the Jamaica Labour Party's Dr. Christopher Tufton and the People's National Party's Rev. Stanley Redwood. They have serious tasks ahead of them. One of those tasks, Doreen Blackwood, a farmer, told The Gleaner would be to return agriculture to its former glory so that young people in particular could see farming as a business or as a career.

Paid little attention

She also said that for the past five or more years, agriculture, as a critical sector in the economy of the country, had been paid little attention and thus had not been allowed to spark development and expansion.

Moses Rowe, another farmer, said too many idle youths are on the streets and one of the roles of a new MP should be to create ways to assist those youths by providing skills training and more employment opportunities.

"I am pleading on behalf of the farmers of this constituency we need better farm roads, access to low-interest rate loans; we need more technical assistance from RADA. We want a Member of Parliament who would sit down with us and listen to our concerns and then lobby on our behalf for the development of our area," said Rowe.

The matter of recurring flooding in areas such as Slipe, Porrattee, Vineyard, Arlington, Luana, Black River and Crawford has also been of serious concern to constituents.

St Elizabeth South West

JLP candidate: Dr. Christopher Tufton

PNP candidate: Reverend Stanley Redwood

Registered voters: 24,350

Last election results: PNP won by 117 votes

Last voter turnout: 71 per cent

( L - R ) Tufton, Redwood