HIGHGATE, St Mary — Responding to one Central St Mary resident’s call for money provided under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to be spent feeding the needy and vulnerable, Member of Parliament Dr Morais Guy sought to explain, on Wednesday, the rules governing the use of State resources.

He attempted to dispel the notion that political representatives walk around with wads of cash in pocket, readily at hand when assistance is requested.

“This is not so as we cannot dictate to these agencies [of Government]; it’s a process. We interface on behalf of the constituents to get these things done. Sometimes it takes a while. We do not handle any of these funds,” Guy stressed.

He told those gathered at the St Mary High School that he has been raked over the coals when limited resources have prevented him from granting some of their requests.

“There is more flour than water,” said the seasoned member of the Opposition People’s National Party who has served notice that he will not seek re-election for the next national poll.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister’s website, the CDF’s main function is to “promote human and infrastructure development at the community and constituency levels through the establishment of sustainable development projects”. Examples of how it has been appropriated include providing housing for the indigent, road repairs, agricultural projects, repairing basic schools and community centres, helping with sports and healthy lifestyle projects as well as providing assistance with back-to-school expenses.

Dr Guy’s civics lesson for his constituents brought into sharp focus decades of entrenched expectations from voters and how politicians have boxed themselves into a corner by capitalising on those expectations which have now become a millstone around many of their necks. Each constituency is provided with $20 million but many elected officials have complained that the need, on the ground, is much greater. MPs maintain that they are expected to fund everything from funeral expenses to road repairs and everything else in between.

They have also bitterly groused that they routinely use private funds to provide help to those in need, and many have intimated that the recently announced massive salary increase will largely be spent on their constituents. However, the expectation is that the freshly unveiled job description for MPs will help them navigate the waters as a flood of expectations heads their way now that their pocketbooks are fatter.

In terms of his CDF, Dr Guy said he intends to spend $5 million of his $20 million on providing grants in an area for which he cares deeply.

“I do not make any apologies that a large portion goes to education. I have a passion for education,” he told his constituents on Wednesday.

Other areas of focus, he said, include once again providing support for the St Mary Fisherman’s Regatta and completing a venue that will house the Islington Dinki Mini Group that has cultural significance.

During her presentation, director of the CDF Project Management Unit Kenesha Rochester explained why it would not be a good idea to simply dole the money out to those on the voters’ list. She explained that each of the 28,000 constituents in Central St Mary would receive a paltry $714, “which is still not adequate as we need to cater for those who are not on the voters’ list”.

Rochester noted that constituencies would need to be creative in their spending and residents would need to make use of social intervention programmes such as PATH, as well as services provided by the ministry of labour, etc. Initiatives undertaken with CDF resources are expected to be “combined with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and other social initiatives, [to] represent a meaningful effort on the part of Government to strengthen the social safety net”.