Eltham View forgotten

Jesus obviously was not talking about the Jamaican Government when he said, "Ask and it will be given to you" in Matthew 7:7.

Let's face it: To get things done in Jamaica, it requires a demonstration. However, we have been reluctant to go this route, having exercised patience by sending letters, emails, making telephone calls and writing articles in the hope that the matter of the road conditions in Eltham View would have been addressed.

With no direct response to date, this letter will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Why can't we follow protocol and get the righ results? We pay our property taxes, clean our drains, keep the community clean and patch the roads on numerous occasions.

As one resident points out in a letter to the editor dated January 4, 2011: "To think of the high-calibre MPs who have represented the area over the years: Ambassador Derrick Heaven, for a short while, Prime Minister Golding as MP (JLP then NDM), and Olivia Grange, our present MP." And still nothing.

Works Minister Mike Henry himself, as reported in the Sunday Gleaner of June 21, 2009, said, " ... Soon enough, Eltham View's roadways, like those in other housing schemes, will be coming into the national road rehabilitation spotlight." "Soon" is long overdue. We need a date, a time and some roads!

Under the current Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme, so many roads close to our community are being fixed. What about us? If we had a councillor, maybe we could get some answers. Mr Rose visited this community just once in October last year and has since gone into hiding. Our calls are not being answered, and messages are ignored. What next, Mr Rose?

Minister Grange, what about the promise of that meeting with us? Haven't we done enough on our own? What form of representation is this?

'Citizens changing Eltham View' is a wonderful article that was published in the Rural Xpress section of The Gleaner on Saturday, May 7 this year. It begins: "Members of the Eltham View Citizens' Association in the Old Capital have joined hands and hearts in their efforts to uplift their community."

A similar sentiment to that was expressed by MP Grange in the message she sent to be read at our citizens' association church service on Sunday, May 29. While a pat on the shoulder is welcome, we need representatives that will meet us halfway and act in accordance with their mandate to serve.

Taxi men are finding it difficult to ply the routes, some even refusing to take residents to their homes; residents' pockets are being strained to effect major and frequent repairs to their motor vehicles; and citizens are being robbed or attacked while crawling on the underdeveloped dirt tracks.

Can we not ask and receive, or must we hit the streets?