ST JAMES, Jamaica — Mark Golding, the President of the People’s National Party (PNP), has mocked Member of Parliament Edmund Bartlett for the poor condition of roads in the St James East Central constituency.

Golding claims that the roads are so deteriorated that addressing them would deplete the entire $40-billion budget allocated for islandwide road improvements under the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.

In a spot meeting held in Johns Hall, following a constituency tour with PNP’s standard bearer, educator Rochelle Reid, Golding expressed his dismay at the state of the roads. The tour covered various areas, including Greenwood, Long Bay, Lilliput, Saigon, Somerton, Adelphi, and Amity.

“I have never seen so many bad roads in my life. For such a show-off and boasy MP, who has been in this constituency for 21 years, it is the worst roads all over this place,” Golding said.

Bartlett is also the Minister of Tourism.

“This constituency alone will take up the whole of the money for project SPARK, which is a national project,” quipped Golding.

Using the state of the roads as an indicator of how the constituency is being neglected, he urged all within earshot to ensure that they come out on Election Day and vote.

During the tour of the constituency, Golding met with the first-ever female speaker of the house, Violet Neilson, who was also MP for St James East Central from 1989 to 1997.

Neilson was also the first female president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS).

Golding pointed out that the PNP had the seat in the past and it is possible for it to do so once again.

As he listed the party’s slate of councillor candidates within the constituency, who will be running in the local government election due by next February, the PNP president gave a possible reason why Prime Minister Andrew Holness did not announce dates for local and national polls when he took the podium at the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) 80th annual conference on Sunday.

“It is because they can’t cross it. They know that the people are not in them again because they are tired of the lies, deception and corruption. The people want a new wind of change. They want a government that they can have trust and confidence in…, and a Government who looks out for the people,” Golding said highlighting some of the ills in the society that need fixing.

– Anthony Lewis