Bunting claims political bias in road rehabilitation programme

Garfield Myers

Saturday, September 11, 2010

CHRISTIANA, Manchester — Charging that "implementation of this programme wreaks of vulgar partisan bias" Central Manchester member of Parliament Peter Bunting on Thursday boycotted the Manchester launch of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) — a US$400 million, five-year project aimed at rehabilitating roads and related infrastructure across the country.

"I will not risk my participation being interpreted as an endorsement of a programme seemingly designed to avoid all balance, fairness, transparency or value for taxpayers' money," Bunting, who is General Secretary of the Opposition People's National Party (PNP), said in a news release circulated Thursday afternoon.

"On the face of it, the implementation of this programme wreaks of vulgar partisan bias. It effectively bypasses the National Contracts Commission and the Office of the Contractor General. No local contractor without political connections to the Government has any fair chance to participate in this largest ever pork barrel programme," added Bunting.

He claimed that in Manchester, the roads selected for repair are overhwlemingly in the NE manchester constituency held by Finance Minister Audley Shaw — the only seat in Manchester held by the ruling party.

"Of the eleven roads selected for rehabilitation in the parish of Manchester, eight are in a single constituency — North East Manchester — where Minister Audley Shaw is the MP, and none is in South Manchester where Michael Peart serves as MP. In fact, nine of the eleven roads are in parish council divisions represented by the JLP," said Bunting.

But at Thursday's launch at the Christiana Early Childhood and Pre School in Christiana, Shaw and TRransport and Works Minister Mike Henry insisted that the programme which is being majority funded by a loan from the Chinese Government was meant to benefit all Jamaicans and was not intended to be partisan.

However, Shaw charged that "victmisation" practised by the previous PNP government, had resulted in a number of roads in NE manchester been neglected and they would now be given priority.

"I know that this Jamaica Development programme is not only a programme for Labourites alone it is a programme for all constituencies in Jamaica. When you see something that is wrong, two wrongs dont make a right, we have to set the example but the truth be told because of the victimisation over the years it just so happens that plenty of the roads that haffi fix (are) in NE Manchester and they are going to be fixed," the finance minister told a supportive audience.

Claiming that he had often complained "bitterly" while he was in Opposition, Shaw said one of the "unfortunate characteristrics of politics that has happened in the past is where a constituency of people (is) victimised because their representative is not a member of the governing party..."

Shaw said a new Christiana Development Road would transform Christiana and ease chronic traffic congestion through a one-way system.

"Christiana is deserving of that road...," he said.

Speakers at Thursday's function, including prime minister Bruce Golding who delivered the main address, emphasised that projects will not be rolled out all at once but will be stretched over the five-year period of the programme.

Eleven Manchester roads were listed for "rehabiltation" and 29 for "periodic maintenence" for the period up to March 2011.

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Bunting claims political bias in road rehabilitation programme