ST MARY, Jamaica — Councillor-elect for the Islington Division, Lincoln Dixon, is calling on the authorities to move speedily in providing electricity through the Rural Electrification Programme (REP) to Comesee Road, near White Hall in St Mary.

Dixon made the call in light of the recent theft of about 50 per cent of un-energized wires installed on poles in the community.   

“They stole about 50 per cent of the wires off the poles,” a very disgruntled Dixon said.

Dixon expressed frustration at the length of time it was taking the REP to provide electricity to the community, despite residents making payments towards preparing their homes for the service.

“These people who have paid the $4,000 all now they don’t hear anything,” Dixon said.

While upset that the wires were stolen, Dixon said had the wires been energized the theft would not have been possible.

“If something was done, they could not have touched the wires,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Jamaica Observer (Monday, July 18), in an article “We hungry and thirsty for it– Comesee Residents”, highlighted the plight of the residents who said they were anxiously awaiting electricity in their community for years.

For more than 30 years, the residents on Comesee Road have lived without legal electricity connection, many having to journey daily to the shop to purchase perishables because they don’t have the means to store these items.

The residents have also been the target of a number of robberies due to the lack of street lighting in their community.

Dixon said he has been lobbying for electricity to be given to the community. Much of the infrastructure has been implemented, but since last year nothing else has been done in the area.

“They were put in before Christmas (2015). We were expecting that it would have been completed before Christmas that the lines would have been energized,” Dixon said.