Battle over lights for Retirement
MICHAEL Troupe, the People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the Granville Division in St James, and party activist O Dave Allen, the chairman of the Retirement Development Trust, are set to battle over the provision of electricity to residents in the first phase of Retirement.
The Retirement Development Trust has for several months been trying to develop approximately 20 acres of land in the Retirement area, which has been occupied by squatters.
According to Allen, the Trust has spent nearly half a million dollars to install electricity distribution lines in the community, however, their efforts were being stymied by Troupe. “We have plenty illegal connections in the community and we have spent $475,000 for light, but it’s suffering from political interference,” Allen said.
Allen wants persons seeking to get electricity in their homes to go through the Trust. Under Allen’s plan, only persons who have paid the required amount of money to the Trust would get electricity in their homes.
But Troupe was adamant that this practice was wrong and has been facilitating the residents in getting electricity in their homes, bypassing the Trust.
“Allen doesn’t have the authority to tell people to come to the Trust, he is going on like he owns the government land,” Troupe said.
The councillor said the Retirement Trust had spent $1.5 million in the community, compared to $3 million spent by the Jamaica Public Service Company.
Against this background, Troupe said Allen does not have the authority to determine who gets electricity.
“I am not going to sit by and allow Allen to have them like puppets on a string,” Troupe said.
“Some people tend to use poor people and I will not turn my back on the persons who voted for me,” the councillor added.
Squatters in the community have for years trespassed on the works of the Jamaica Public Service Company and Troupe said the situation had reached crisis proportions. “When you go there, it makes anancy web look like fool.”
He said that’s why the effort was being made to get all residents legally and properly connected to the JPSCo.
