Dear Editor,

The substandard construction of our roads is being exposed as nature’s water strips naked their asphalt clothing.

Jamaica has been experiencing months of drought to the point at which water restrictions were imposed to mitigate against the low levels of water in the dams. The prayers went up, God sent the rain, and another problem has developed on the ground: the drainless roads have volunteered themselves to assist the dams by holding water.

To be fair, the Government has patched a few roads, but even the patches are now absent from duty. Now the potholes, along with mosquitoes and the auto parts companies, are hosting a ‘Water Holding Competition’ in the roads. The winning communities will receive high motor vehicle repair bills and an outbreak of the dengue virus.

It is always fascinating how contractors have for years collected the result of Jamaicans’ blood, sweat, and tears for incomplete work. It does not take a scientist to figure out that roads constructed without drains are for temporary purposes only. Is this a deliberate act to suffer drivers to always be fixing rims, tyres, and front ends? Or is it to ensure that contractors can live the American dream? All drivers can attest to the heart-rending feeling evoked when their vehicles fall into a pothole. It amounts to money falling from their pockets and floating down Sandy Gully.

It is noticeable that successive administrations have subjected the country to hefty road repairs ever so often, but there is no accountability from road contractors. The operators of the toll road have shown that the Jamaican Government is not serious about road construction and repair. Why can’t the National Works Agency(NWA) follow in the footsteps of the toll operators? Is it because of the pothole competition? It is full time the Government holds contractors accountable for taxpayers’ money.

It is unfair for motorist to be spending millions in vehicle repairs because the Government wants to win the pothole competition. The powers that be were quick to show their authority at Crab Circle by shutting it down, but motorists suffer on roads that the same Government is in charge of, wasting billions yearly on mosquito holes.

The citizens of Jamaica deserve their taxes’ worth, and presently they are being short-changed.

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com