Clarendon gobbles up road funds
Published:Monday | July 19, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
Transport and Works Minis-ter Mike Henry's constituency has eaten up the lion's share of money being spent on the 'most significant special projects' under the Road Maintenance Fund (RMF).
The annual report of the RMF for financial year 2008-2009 tabled in Parliament last week indicates that $26.9 million, or 53.8 per cent, of the $50 million spent on what the fund describes as its "most significant special projects" was spent in Henry's Central Clarendon constituency.
Henry yesterday told The Gleaner that he was willing to reply, in writing, to our question as to whether there may be a perceived conflict in Central Clarendon benefiting so greatly from road repairs while he is the minister of works.
"I will tell the people of Central Clarendon that it is a conflict to represent them as part of the Government of Jamaica," Henry said.
He also retorted whether it was a conflict when a former minister in a People's National Party (PNP) administration, according to him, said he should not get any roads fixed in Central Clarendon.
"... For 20 years we could not get any roads fixed, so is fixing them now a conflict?"
The board of the RMF approved $991m for spending during the financial year but only $807.5m was spent.
The area of special projects was allocated $91m. However, it was overshot, as expenditure registered $96.5m.
Henry's Central Clarendon was the recipient of $12m for draining works in May Pen; $4m for road repairs to Beckford Street; $3.9m for rehabilitation work on Gretton Avenue; and $7m for resurfacing works at Penguin Avenue.
'Vulgar' spending spree
Robert Pickersgill, the opposition spokesman on transport and works, described as "wrong and vulgar" the spending for works in Clarendon.
"There is the Jamaican saying that parson christen him pickney first, but parson also christen other people pickney too," Pickersgill said.
Meanwhile, included among the most significant projects are repairs to roads in North East Manchester, which is represented by JLP colleague Audley Shaw, the minister of finance. This spending totalled $10.2m.
The RMF, in its annual report, says the special projects listed "range from small, roadside maintenance projects such as kerb wall paintings, bushing and drain cleaning to road rehabilitation and repairs, drainage construction and improvement."
Other roads listed as being the 'most significant special projects approved for financing by the RMF' is the clearing of verges along Mandela Highway - the chief corridor connecting Kingston to central and western Jamaica - as well as at José Marti in St Catherine. These roads fall in Sharon Hay-Webster's (PNP) South Central St Catherine seat.
Two million dollars has also been spent to resurface roads in Whitney Turn, South West Clarendon. The MP, Noel Arscott (PNP), said the roadwork there amounted to "the patching of some potholes".