CRAWLE, Trelawny — The Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLPs) Donovan White, who was Thursday sworn in as councillor for the Duncan’s Division at the regular sitting of the Trelawny Parish Council, has acknowledged that he will have his work cut out for him, as he seeks to improve the quality of life for the more than 18,000 constituents.

“I know that my job will not be easy, but I know too that I am a hard worker and so I will rise to the challenge,” he told the Observer following the brief swearing-in ceremony.

An unreliable supply of piped water, poor road conditions, inadequate street lighting and lack of jobs are among the growing list of issues that the new councillor will have to address.

“Donovan will have to work very hard for the division because there are a number of problems here,” said an elderly woman from Rio Bueno, who gave her name only as Jenny.

The Duncans Division forms part of the constituency of Northern Trelawny, and includes communities such as Duncans, Spicy Hill, Samuel Prospect, Jackson Town, Brompton, Carey Park and Silver Sands.

White, a 41 year-old businessman of Spicy Hill, is replacing his father, the late Errol ‘Juppie’ White, who represented the division for almost two decades. The senior White died in November 2009, after a long battle with cancer. At the time of his death, he was the deputy mayor of Falmouth, a position he held for two years.

The younger White was last month declared winner of the division by acclamation at the close of Nomination Day on March 16.

Thursday, Mayor of Falmouth and chairman of the Trelawny Parish Council Colin Gager charged the new councillor to work diligently in representing his division.

“When you become a councillor within this council we do not see colours, whether it be orange or green; what you will see is that all are committed to serving their respective divisions; there is no party line within the Trelawny Parish Council,” said Gager, who is also the councillor (JLP) for the Warsop Division.

White later told the Observer that he was honoured to become a member of the council and promised to “immediately tackle” a number of burning issues besetting the division.

“As of now, I will be making vigorous representation for improvements in street lighting, better road conditions and for a reliable supply of water in the division,” he said.

Over the years, the division has been plagued with an unreliable water supply in areas such as Samuel Prospect, Crawle, Spicy Hill and sections of Jackson Town. Residents in Crawle, Barnstable and sections of Samuel Prospect have also complained about poor road conditions.