A project to transform Montego Bay into a technology-managed municipality has been greeted with sceptism by some Jamaica Observer online readers. The ‘One Bay For All’ project is an initiative under the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) emerging and sustainable cities initiative. Details of the project were outlined by St James Parish Council Director of Planning Trevion Manning during a recent interview with the Observer. However, readers say they have little faith in the completion of a project of that magnitude, given the authority’s failure at managing basic tasks such as garbage collection. Here are some edited comments:

Jamaican Thoughts

Sounds like a good plan. I’m on board for any type of development or improvement, but I’ve heard big grand announcements like this before so I won’t get too excited just yet. When it happens it happens.

Dully

Sounds good, but several decades late. Montego Bay probably needs to operate as its own Republic, as it used to be called, and still by some if it is to have a chance. The Kingston quasi-colonial government must be excluded and all Bay politicians must know they represent the west and all follow line politician in the Bay must be booted. Plan needs to be deeper than that, though.

Travellingman

Announcement after announcement. Does anybody still believe this drivel? Please misleaders, just pick up the trash, kill the rats, stop the rampaging gunmen and bring the squatter communities under the rule of law and order, and I will be satisfied.

John H Christian

I have been around a very long time, hearing announcements of “great plans” for Montego Bay… have not seen the results yet… now we have a NEW Plan. Sweet Lord, can’t they just PICK up the garbage? That would be INCREDIBLE!

NoMore_MarioDean

@John H Christian: True words citizen! True words!

Chapter1

@John H Christian: The garbage will be picked up as well, or some attempt at it. JHC, Chrismus, err, election is a coming and most microphones are in good working condition at this time. Listen for more loud speakering as we count down to fly di gate.

RasBenjiMassop

All sounds good, but the squatter communities have been promised ownership and possession of the land. How’s that going to be integrated into this vision? Are the ‘squatters’ going to seamlessly and harmoniously co-exist with new development? Are we simply kicking the can down the road, when we really need to dispose of it? Perhaps we foresee a great hindrance and citizen uproar if we fix that problem NOW, but truthfully if we don’t, we’re inviting BIGGER problems in the future. One Love!

@liqyliqy

@RasBenjiMassop: Good morning. The biggest problem here is the implementation of face recognition cameras. They are an intrusion of privacy and should be a concern to everyone who would be walking the streets of Jamaica. Did they stop to think about tourists not coming here because their privacy would be violated and their images are being stored somewhere?

Kit

@RasBenjiMassop: Again, Ras Benji, you speak truth. Many cans are kicked “down the road”. [At one point] people were using and abusing the waterfront area. UDC wired it off and now people go down to Bottom Road’s sea wall and they [litter] the place with no respect for the environment. Meet me down there on a Sunday night and you will see. Our people seem to have a sense of entitlement that extends from bad behaviour in public to taking land when they don’t have any. It would be almost impossible for government to end squatting, since we have so many squatter communities. But we need to start somewhere to enforce all sorts of laws, rules and regulations that will result in responsibility and social consciousness.

countrybumpkin

Why was a sitting MP, Mr Smith, being briefed at the same time as everyone else?

Chapter1

@countrybumpkin: All he does is sit anyway .

IMF2014

Another one of those IADB pilot projects.

Kwame Thompson

@IMF2014: Planning ought to be on a broader scale to encompass the county/western region of the island. The population isn’t large enough to justify all that expenditure of capital.

countrybumpkin

OK, so when The Bay knows that “the gully gwine cum dung”, what next?

nickmackpee

Ah well… let’s see if we will remember this 10 years from now. I seem to recall some announcement regarding the development of Port Royal, say around 20 years ago.

Lyndon Allen

They always doing and doing nothing to develop Montego Bay on the north coast. What they should do is to build a railway line from Ocho Rios to Montego Bay and then to Negril, do you know the millions of visitors they would attract from North America and Europe who would love to ride the train for sightseeing? The Government does not have to spend any money to do it; just let private companies do it.

GenX

For four… years they sit in power in MoBay and nothing! Yet now close to election year they are JUST beginning to develop a plan. KMT this is pathetic. People wake up… suck up your pride and do what is right for Jamaica and get rid of this failed government! As bad as the JLP might be to each other… they have always done good by Jamaica… growth, healthcare, HEART, save NHT, reduced crime.

Derville

AWESOME! It’s about time!

Kit

Is this the technological component of the plan that was announced a few months ago or is this something entirely new again? John is right, big plans and foreign money will come in and SOME day create an improved MoBay, but we have problems doing simple things like picking up garbage and sending a crew into the gully every two weeks to ensure it is not being blocked. Empower the Courtesy Corp to hand out fines to people who litter would be one very simple solution.