‘It’s just like we lost’

Residents of Trinityville in St Thomas are anxious to elect a new councillor following the death of Lenworth Rawle last November, expressing disappointment that they did not get the chance to do so this month, when the local government elections were due.

Last week, the Houses of Parliament passed the Representation of the People (Postponement of Elections to Municipal Corporations and City Municipalities) Act, providing for a further 12-month delay of the long-overdue polls, which were originally due in November 2020.

Trinityville is one of the 15 divisions currently without direct representation as their councillors have died, resigned or have since been elected to Parliament and cannot hold dual roles.

“It’s just like we lost. We lost,” lamented Richard Davids, a resident of the community. “Our prime minister don’t really care about us, and we no have an Opposition so my ting is like di country gone backwards.”

A councillor’s responsibilities involve making representation to the municipal corporation on matters regarding the development, management and maintenance of the infrastructure, public facilities, parochial roads, water supplies, drains and gullies, parks, recreational centres, markets, abattoirs and pounds. In the absence of a councillor, those responsibilities fall on the mayor.

Morant Bay Mayor Hubert Williams, who is the PNP-aligned councillor for the White Horses division, also voiced his concern at the further postponement of the local government elections.

Asserting that Trinityville is a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) stronghold, Williams argued that the ruling party “has the power to decide whether or not Trinityville get a new representative”.

But Davids complained that the lack of representation has left them with no one to advocate on issues affecting them, such as the frequent water shortages in the community.

“We have a water problem and it worse than before,” the 33-year-old said. Wi a suffer from water shortage right now, sometime fi weeks mi nuh have water.”

It is a problem that Shantel Williams, a 23-year-old resident of the community, said had become a great inconvenience.

“If wi get it fi two days, fours days it lock off again,” she told The Gleaner last week.

Delano Williams, acting corporate public relations manager at the National Water Commission, explained that the community is served by the Somerset River in the parish, which is currently in decline. But he said that the agency will be moving to take the pipeline further upstream to try to harness additional water.

“It is not by choice. We do not have enough water to supply on a regular schedule, so with the decline that we have there now, there is less service time,” Williams explained.

For the long term, he said that the agency is partnering with the Water Resources Authority to identify more viable sources of the commodity. But in the meantime, Williams said that water is trucked to Trinityville on Fridays and Saturdays.

Mayor Williams also told The Gleaner that he is working to address this issue.

Residents also complained of a dust nuisance from road repair works being undertaken.

Natasha Mason, who operates a cookshop, said they have had to take on the responsibility of dampening the dusty road themselves.

“Sometime one guy use him hose. Sometime di people dem haffi inna dem mask, and when wi a cook di food, you haffi mind wa you a do. You affi cover up di food,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com