By Stephanie Elliott, Gleaner WriterCLARENDON:
RESIDENTS OF the community of Bagatelle district, Clarendon, are expressing anger and disgust at the present condition of their roads. According to them, despite numerous attempts to have their respective Members of Parliament and councillors address the situation, their pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears.
According to the residents, they strongly believe that the main reason for the roads not being repaired is the fact that the area leading to the community falls into two constituencies - North Central Clarendon represented by Pearnel Charles of the JLP, and South West Clarendon represented by Charles Learmond of the PNP. They went on to describe the numerous attempts made to have dialogue with the parliamentarians in an effort to have the problem corrected, but to no avail.
On a visit to the community, The Gleaner spoke with several of the residents, who told us that the problem of bad roads has been affecting them for several years. They lamented that the deplorable road conditions have greatly affected their livelihood. According to them, Bagatelle, being an agricultural community, the farmers who sell their produce in the May Pen and surrounding markets experience difficulties in transporting their goods, because of the high cost of movement.
In a telephone interview with The Gleaner, Winnie Anderson-Brown, president of the Bagatelle Citizens Association, told of the numerous efforts she has made to have the problem of bad road in the community addressed. Mrs. Anderson-Brown said that she believes that the politicians of this country have no respect for persons living in rural areas. She added that even her efforts to have the two parliamentary representatives speak to residents in the community and address their problems have been to no avail.
According to her, she has spoken to Mr. Charles on several occasions about the condition of the road and the effect it is having on the lives of residents in the community. She added that during the last general election, Mr. Charles made a tour of the area, with Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga, but to-date nothing has been done about the roads.
Mrs. Anderson-Brown also said that she has even contacted the National Works Agency, in Clarendon to find out if there were any plans to have the roads fixed. She said she was told by a representative there that money had been allocated to have the roads of Bagatelle repaired but those funds were later withdrawn for reasons he did not know.
According to Joel Williams, JLP Councillor for Toll Gate, he is very much aware of the deplorable condition of roads in the community and its environs. He insisted that it is one of his major concerns at present. He added that at the last Parish Council meeting on September 10, when Local Government Minister Portia Simpson Miller attended as a special guest, he brought up the topic of roads in the area. He said that the technical director at the Local Government Ministry, Patrick Wong, was appalled when he learned that the situation is yet to be addressed.
Minister Simpson ordered an enquiry to be made into the matter, as according to them, the project should have been completed by now.
