Dear Editor,

This is an open letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness:

Dear Prime Minister,

The roads in the Stockfarm area of Golden Spring, St Andrew, are deplorable, namely: Stockfarm, Valley View, Joyces, Steel, and Faith Home Roads.

Last year a delegation from the community went to the National Works Agency (NWA) about the matter, only to discover that our Member of Parliament Mrs Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, who earlier confirmed her attendance to champion the cause of the residents during the session, did not attend and has not, up to now, offered an apology or explanation.

We were told in the meeting by Chairman E G Hunter that the NWA is a body of technical experts in road repairs and that funding is not their purview.

Shortly after that meeting we wrote to the Ministry of Transport and Housing, where both Tanya Bedward and Janine Dawkins of that ministry’s technical department forwarded the repair estimates to the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), effectively washing their hands of the matter.

Since then, we went to the KSAC where we filled out and submitted an application for the repair work, along with evidence of our own effort that saw us spending $700,000 and using community hands to effect remedial work.

On Wednesday, February 22, 2017 another delegation from the community went to the KSAC. Had it not been for the intervention of Councillor Francis from the Kintyre/Mavis Bank Division, we would have been turned away without seeing Town Clerk Robert Hill, who we wanted to engage in discussions.

A meeting with us was then hurriedly convened by Mr Hill, who in turn summoned City Engineer Norman Shand. Mr Shand could give no excuse as to why neither himself nor his department had responded to our earlier letter to him dated October 22, 2015, or our numerous telephone calls to his office.

We were told by Mr Hill that Mr Shand will be communicating with us in writing with respect to the issue. We were also told by Mr Hill to call Mr Warden Downer of the NWA, tel 298-5487, to see what could be done about our water drains. When Mr Downer was called, he said that his agency could not respond to the issue of funding for rectification of the drains in the community.

Derrick D Simon

Chairman, Golden Spring Citizens’ Association

derrickdsimon@yahoo.com