MEMBER of Parliament for St Andrew Western Anthony Hylton has already started making new year promises ahead of what is expected to be a politically rife period, with the electorate anticipating the announcement of the date for the next general election.

The promise made by Hylton is, however, no jaw- dropper. It is commonly used by politicians to get the support of their constituents — new roads.

Hylton made the announcement to a less-than-amused gathering at a dinner and awards ceremony for senior citizens put on by the Cooreville Gardens Citizens’ Association, with major help from attorney-at-law Michelle Thomas and US-based group One Cooreville, on December 22.

“Disclosing to the members of my table that when I heard the announcement that out of 74 communities Cooreville was voted number three in the category of best community spirit and self-reliance, I said I believe we can be number one in a number of categories. One of the things that can contribute is for all the roads to be fixed,” Hylton said.

He added: “Next year will be a very good year for the community. Next year we should have several if not all roads in the community upgraded and fixed.”

But this announcement drew the ire of a number of seniors in attendance who shouted in unison – “lie!”

One woman who wished not to be identified was quick to get the attention of this reporter to whom she gave a detailed account, in a hushed tone, of the many times Hylton had made the same promise.

She said: “From Portia [Simpson Miller] did ina power. Mi a talk from when PJ [Patterson] step down — him a tell we dat. Him same one come a me gate wid him people dem and beg wi fi vote fi him and say if wi vote fi him, him a go fix the road and see deh — look how much years later and him still a come wid the same promise because him know election soon call and a try get the votes.”

While she spoke, other seniors close to her at the table nodded in agreement and said his announcements at the dinner and awards ceremony was an attempt to score political mileage with those in attendance.

Further, in his defence regarding the murmurs heard subsequent to his announcement, Hylton sought to explain why this promise has never been delivered.

“It [appears] to me a number of persons in the community are unaware that one of the reasons that the roads in the community in its entirety, apart from the main road, have not gotten the kind of attention, has been because when it was developed the roads were never formally handed over to the parish council — never — and as a result they could not get the resource from the parish council for maintenance purposes,” he said.

Hylton went on to assert that such a clause means no agency in government has responsibility for the deplorable roads in Cooreville Gardens.

“Your situation at the moment is that there is no agency in Government that has responsibility for the roads in Cooreville Gardens. Cooreville is not alone; this is something that has happened over time and Cooreville is in that situation,” he said, adding that when the roads are upgraded they will be formally handed over to the KSAMC (Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation) to ensure sustained maintenance.

After his explanation some seniors nodded in agreement, but others remained unmoved by the promise.

Hylton maintained that 2020 will be a good year for the community and commended the citizens’ association for treating and awarding the senior citizens.