This week we feature the People’s National Party candidate for Western Hanover, Ralston Anson.

BORN in Kendal, Hanover on December 31, 1949 Ralston Anson attended the Kendal Primary School and Frome Senior School before going on to the Mico Training College in Kingston where he was trained as a teacher.

Married with three children, Anson has been a deacon and a lay preacher for the past seven years.

A former teacher and manager at the Lucea branch of the National Housing Trust he began his political career in 1969. That year, he became a member of the People’s National Party Youth Organisation.

In 1976, he was elected as member of the Western Hanover PNP constituency executive.

Thirteen years later, Anson was given the post of vice-chairman for the constituency and was named chairman of the Hanover branch of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

He was elected councillor for the Cauldwell Division of the Hanover Parish Council in the 1998 local government elections and was named deputy mayor for the town of Lucea.

The 52 year-old Anson replaces the PNP’s Ben Claire, who is not seeking re-election in the upcoming general elections.

When Anson was asked why should Jamaicans vote for him, he pointed to his 34 years of work in the constituency and his plans to improve the standard of living of the constituents.

“Over the past 34 years I have been spending quality time working with the people in various organisations. I have gotten to know about the people and to understand their needs and concerns in all these years. I have served on various committees and boards such as the Hanover branch of RADA, schools boards and civic groups; and by serving all these organisations I have come to realise how important it is to serve the people and the community at large. For the last seven years, I have been a Christian, serving several communities in the constituency. The church has molded me and has enhanced my growth and development,” Anson said.

“With this vast background of experience and knowledge I am now placed in a position to serve the people at a higher level,” he added.

He told the Observer that his plans for the development of the constituency include the promotion of eco-tourism, noting that the parish of Hanover is strategically placed between the major tourist resorts of Negril and Montego Bay.

“As a result of this, we will have to take full advantage of the opportunities that tourism offers,” he said. “We have already put an organisation in place that is looking at the development of this type of tourist attraction, and I am confident that we will be able to make use of the opportunity.”

Anson said he also plans to restore historical buildings in the town of Lucea and to have the Fort Charlotte area developed into a tourist attraction.

The development of a National Park in the Dolphin Head Mountain is also high on the candidate’s priority list.

He added: “We also want to look at:

* cruise shipping in the Lucea Harbour;

* a training programme for the youths in the constituency; and

* improvements in the road network and the further development of agriculture in the parish which has been on a steady decline in recent years.”

Anson said that as a former chairman of RADA, he wanted to take Hanover back to where it was in regards to agriculture.

“We want to encourage the young farmers to get more involved in farming activities and to restore the constituency to its former glory as far as agriculture is concerned.”