MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Mandeville-based Northern Caribbean University (NCU), which has gained international acclaim for its student work in technology, and respect as one of the country’s premier tertiary institutions, is continuing its drive for Mandeville to be transformed into an internationally recognised university town.

The institution called together a number of Manchester’s business, political and civic leaders to discuss the way forward, following calls for the central Manchester town to be made into an information technology and knowledge-based hub akin to Silicon Valley.

Located in northern California, Silicon Valley is home to many of the world’s largest technology corporations and is synonymous with high-tech innovation.

Both the presenters and members of the public who were on hand to ask questions and make suggestions about the future of Mandeville agreed that NCU had a major role to play in pushing the long-desired transformation.

Member of Parliament Peter Bunting said given NCU’s worldwide recognition — especially in information technology — coupled with its academic offerings and those of other tertiary and secondary institutions, Mandeville could become a centre of excellence not just for ICT, but for knowledge- and health-based industries.

“With knowledge and technology being the centrepiece of economic advantage and global competitiveness, many countries have invested in the so-called knowledge

cities to increase their competitiveness and attract investment,” he said, noting that cities such as Barcelona in Spain and Melbourne in Australia, have pushed their resources into scientific research and innovative technological development.

Bunting said education, health services and information and communication technologies (ICT), would form the hub of this centre

of excellence.

“If we get these up and running, many other industries would come out of them…,” the MP said.

In addition to Mandeville having some of the island’s top high schools and tertiary institutions, Bunting said he was moving to upgrade the Mandeville Regional Hospital from a Type B to a Type A facility.

“We’re not far off. We have most of the services and specialties required. We need an intensive care unit…all these are within relative reach, I believe, in the medium term,” he said.

The Manchester Central MP said he has written to the Transport Ministry requesting that it allocate a parcel of land it now owns to the hospital, to accommodate an extension of its services.

But even as the MP pushes for Mandeville’s economic transformation, Mayor Brenda Ramsay says it cannot be business as usual. She said though Mandeville has much to be proud of, it has still not solved its water woes. She said the parish council would be pushing the National Water Commission to commission the Number Four Well at Pepper into service. The Well, which is expected to pump millions of gallons of additional of water up the Spur Tree Hill and into Mandeville, has met with numerous legal and financial snags.

“If I’m to be very honest, some of the delays have been caused by a lack of will to have this done and done in a timely manner…this falls under the purview of the National Water Commission but we at the Council feel that we have such a vested interest that we’re not going to leave it to them and their timelines… This has to happen if we really are to have the level of development which we are all aiming for,” she said.

The Mayor also called for changes to be made to some of the archaic legislation still on the books. “If we are able to do all of this, not only will we be able to capture the investment, but the citizens will be able to enjoy a better quality of life… and then and only then can we truly boast that Manchester is the place of choice to live, work, play and learn.,” she said.

Meanwhile, President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Wendy Freckleton said her organisation is making itself even more visible among the communities in the parish. She told the gathering that the Chamber has tackled the problem of illiteracy among some students, as

it has a direct co-relation to development.

Manchester is one of the few parishes in the country, which has a completed Parish Development Plan and an active Parish Development Committee. The committee along with parish stakeholders sought and received funding from the Canadian government to design a comprehensive parish development plan for the parish, to fuel growth over the next several years. The plan, the first of its kind in Jamaica, was completed in 2008.

This central Jamaica parish is seen as one of the more affluent in the country, with a number of prominent businesses and institutions either originating there, or opening branches there. It is replete with sprawling houses and high-end apartment complexes and continues to attract returning residents. A number of the island’s government officials and heads of prominent organizations call the parish home. The country’s fourth Mega mart store is scheduled to open its doors in the parish by December.