Williamsfield, St catherine, residents Tracey Lee (right) and Pauline Marshall pour water to do their washing. - Photos by Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Tracey Lee is 37 years old and has never seen piped water in her Williamsfield, St Catherine community, where she has lived since age seven.

While pouring water from a drum in front of her house last week, Lee, a voter in the North East St Catherine constituency, told The Gleaner there was need for change. The drum was one of many set up at homes, along pothole-filled roadways in Williamsfield, to catch water for use by residents.

"I am here since 1979 and I have never seen pipe water in this area. We need this to change. The road condition is also very bad," she told The Gleaner.

In other communities in the constituency, such as Gobay, the generally poor road conditions was the main complaint of residents.

Roads affecting education

The roads are so bad that teachers and students going to the Berry Hill Primary School have to walk over a rickety makeshift bridge with planks of cedar serving as a footpath.

Residents claim that work on a replacement bridge should have started last Monday, but was yet to happen.

Gobay resident Alphanso Brown, while breaking stones he said were to be used in the construction of a retaining wall in the area, cried out for a community centre, football field and other recreational areas to be built in order to engage unemployed youths in positive activities.

Other residents decried the general lack of employment and pleaded for factories to be built so youths who want to work can get jobs.

Claudia O'Hara (seated) wants better roads and a more consistent electricity and water supply in Crawle.