Paulwell agrees to name farm roads in improvement programme
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Leader of the House of Representatives Phillip Paulwell on Tuesday assured the Opposition that the names of roads included in a new $460-million farm road improvement progamme added to budget, would be tabled next Tuesday.
Paulwell was responding to a request from Opposition spokesman on finance, Audley Shaw, that the roads be made public.
Shaw had complained to the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee (PAAC), during its review of the first supplementary estimates last Wednesday, that the project which formed part of a new $2.2-billion mitigation programme scheduled to start soon, was open to political manipulation during the election season.
He said that at $460 million, each of the 63 members of Parliament could be allocated at least $7 million. However, he said that he has learnt that his constituency would only be getting $300,000.
Shaw asked Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Derrick Kellier to table a document he had with the list of the roads, but Kellier refused.
At Shaw’s request, however, Paulwell assured the House that he would ensure that the document which lists the roads be tabled next week.
Balford Henry