Ian Hayles hits back on charges levelled by councillor

Christopher Bodden, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Western Hanover's Member of Parliament, Ian Hayles, has responded to criticism by Councillor Lester Crooks of the Riverside Division, who said that Hayles was not doing enough to provide water to sections of his constituency.

"The very same councillor (Crooks) was at the K-Factor consultancy meeting that was held at Global Villa (in Lucea)," Hayles told Western Focus, Tuesday. "During the past months during the drought, I have spent over $2 million trucking water, the majority of which was spent in the Riverside Division.

"The National Water Commission and Hanover Parish Council have kept councillors in tune with the lobbying done on behalf of the parish. Yes, I would like to bring water all across Jamaica like the prime minister says, but parson christen him pickney first," he added.

At the regular monthly meeting of the Hanover Parish Council three weeks ago, Crooks took Hayles, who is also the junior minister in the Ministry of Water, to task for what he said was substandard water supply to sections of his division. He demanded that the MP better represent the interest of the affected residents, especially due to him being one of the ministers responsible for water supply.

The councillor said communities in his division such as Kingsvale, Clifton, Mt Peace, Chambers Pen, Askenish, and Dias were most affected. He also bemoaned the fact that many residences are unmetered, and that as a result of the NWC not having given the residents meters, they were being charged a flat rate, which, in most cases, was far above the actual consumption.

"We have an MP who is in the Ministry of Water. He needs to do something about it. Man, it's your parish. You represent the parish. Do better than that, man! The people need the service," Crooks had said.

Crooks' comments came after he received a copy of a written report submitted by the National Water Commission during the meeting which stated that the Great River Treatment Plant was experiencing mechanical problems, resulting in intermittent interruption in water supply to the major towns and sections of Crooks' division.

But according to Hayles, "Everybody in the constituency of western Hanover will have potable water for the first time in the history of the constituency" within 12 months due to the implementation of an upcoming expansion project that would cost between $2 million and $3 million.

"Contrary to popular belief, there is not as much water in Hanover to serve the needs of the parish, which is why we are bringing in an additional five million gallons from Martha Brae. Negril uses 2.5 million gallons per day, so we are also expanding to take in the hotels in Negril and also those without water," he said.

"We all want to work on the same mission. We all have to work for Hanover and Jamaica. We can't be passing the buck. I would like to see the Hanover Parish Council do an inventory of their water systems across the parish so that they don't become a burden to the NWC," Hayles said.