Managing Director of Ashman Food Products Limited Ira Ashman is calling on the relevant authorities to fix the pothole-riddled Bushy Park main road in St Catherine, which leads to his business place in Vinyard Crescent, as it is adversely affecting his company.

In fact, the businessman told the Jamaica Observer during a visit to the area recently that 17 of his suppliers have withdrawn their services because of the deplorable state of the road. He said this has resulted in a significant decline in his company’s production.

“We can’t get any produce here. The people don’t want to drive their trucks and come here,” Ashman complained, noting that Ashman Food Products Limited purchased $61 million worth of produce from small farmers last year.

Established in 1985 as a cannery producing ackees and other products, Ashman Food is today one of the top bottling companies in Jamaica, bottling jams, jellies and a range of pepper sauces and seasonings for local and international distributors.

According to the managing director, the issue with the road has been festering for six years. He told the Observer that the asphalt was removed from the road’s surface prior to the 2011 general election, then marl was deposited. However, since then, nothing else has been done.

“We have a member of Parliament who doesn’t see the need for infrastructure in the prosperity that they are talking about,“ Ashman said during an interview at his Vineyard Cresent, Bushy Park, factory. “I don’t know what the prosperity is, maybe they are prospering (but) we are not.”

When the Observer sought a response from Member of Parliament for the St Catherine South West constituency, Everald Warmington, he said he would fix the road on his agenda and not on anybody else’s.

Warmington insisted that the majority of the roads in his constituency are fixed and that he will not allow anyone to tell him when to fix the Busy Park main road.

In the meantime, Ashman has been seeking alternative measures to remedy the situation with the road, but he said his company is still operating at a loss.

“We are suffering a lot with broken bottles because the trucks (which bring our bottles) shift (while travelling on the road). We used to have four (40-foot) containers leaving this factory per month; there is none leaving now per month, because they don’t want to come here,” he said.

The businessman said he has been unable to get a response from various authorities.

“I have been trying the parish council, the NWA (National Works Agency); I sent an e-mail to the Ministry of Industry office, because this is an industry, two weeks ago and one to the permanent secretary explaining that we are affected by the bad road. Not a response from any of them,” Ashman lamented.

While noting that he is contemplating expansion, the managing director said however that plans to expand the factory have been placed on the back-burner until the road is fixed. He said if and when the expansion is completed, the company plans to employ at least 30 additional people to the 68 people it currently employs.

“With all of this we are disappointed that the Government or the member of parliament does not see it as contributing to the economy… When ackee come in, we have over 110 people employed here,” he said.

“We want to put up a cold room. We want to put up another building, but the directors — my wife and my kids — said ‘Don’t spend any more money. Let’s find somewhere outside the area’,” he continued.

Ashman pointed out that the manner in which the bad road condition is being handled is encouraging him to find somewhere outside of the country to operate his business.

Besides Ashman Food Products Limited, the residents as well as employees are suffering from the condition of the road.

“Workers left their house in a black pants and by the time they reach they have on white pants,” Ashman said, adding that a minibus operator whom he had contracted to transport his staff withdrew his services as a result.

Former president of Vineyard Crescent Citizens’ Association James Knight also expressed displeasure about the state of the road.

“Yesterday, I saw a young lady coming from the top of the road. I gave her a lift, and she was complaining about dry cough. Her foot dem white like chalk,” Knight said.

Meanwhile, treasurer for the Aqueduct Country Club Home Outreach Association, Majorie Sharpe, said that the residents, out of frustration, were about to pool together to repair the roadway. However, she said they were advised that it is a technical matter and that they should leave the fixing of the road to the authorities.