Retirement Dump relocation a priority, Malahoo Forte assures constituents
St James West Central MP says all issues of concern being addressed
Published:Friday | November 4, 2022 | 12:05 AM
THE PROCESS to identify a suitable relocation site for the waste disposal site in Retirement, St James, is advanced and an announcement is to made in due course.
That’s according to St James West Central Member of Parliament (MP) Marlene Malahoo Forte, who sought to assure her constituents that she is taking steps to address all issues of concern.
“Be it the hospital at Cornwall Regional that has been under repair for too long and impacting access to healthcare, be it the roads, garbage collection, the opportunities, be it the laws. When they say we want to have an input in how the laws are made, this member of parliament takes their representation seriously and I will continue to work with the relevant arms of government to ensure that their issues are addressed,” she said in her contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
“The issue of the dump is being addressed. A lot of work was done under the leadership of the minister of local government to put in pipes and other infrastructure to contain fires. Constituents agree that nothing short of a relocation of the Retirement Dump will suffice, and I am pleased to say that the work to relocate the dump has started,” she continued.
The MP added that an enterprise team is working on identifying possible areas for relocation and, in due course, an announcement will be made by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie.
The disposal site aside, the MP reasoned that roads are the greatest area of concern in the constituency.
“I have hilly terrain in St James West Central and with the more frequent rains, the existing water channels are woefully inadequate. I have seen volumes of water come down a hill that would take an entire hillside down with tall trees,” she said.
Malahoo Forte explained that those issues will not be addressed overnight, but assured that St James West Central is in good hands.
The MP said during the last year, welfare was provided to over 2,000 residents, and some 266 students benefited from tuition assistance.
The former attorney general and current minister of legal affairs said she is proud to be part of the Government led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who takes the issue of housing seriously.
She said it is a “crying shame” that so many Jamaicans are living in deplorable situations and commended Holness for establishing the Social Housing Programme, which she said has been making a difference in the lives of Jamaicans.