ALMOST two years after ground was broken with much fanfare by Prime Minister Andrew Holness for a contemporary, recreational area at the Maverley Park in St Andrew, residents are frustrated and disappointed over what they describe as an unsightly space which has now become a haven for thieves.

But councillor for the area Andrew Harris (Jamaica Labour Party, Hughenden Division) is assuring residents that work on the promised oasis will resume this week.

According to Harris, he too is upset by the delays to rebuild the Maverley Park, because it was his idea that it should become a modern green space facility where people could exercise and where children could play safely.

“I am frustrated and upset myself. This project is my baby. Even before I was elected, one of the first things I begged the mayor for was to bring back Maverley Park. I used the park from the glory days when it was Flowers Park. It is a pet peeve of mine. I am really on it and we are going to get it done. We are going to pull through,” Harris told the Observer last Saturday as he blamed the contractor for the delay.

“By Wednesday we will resume some work over there. The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation will be finishing up some work on it. We had issues with the contractor. He’s a bit tardy. He had some project in Portmore, St Catherine, when he took on this one and based on what I was told, they gave him some ultimatum over there ,so our project got neglected,” Harris said.

Ground was broken for the reconstruction of the park on August 23, 2022 with Harris and Holness leading a large group of participants in what was described as part of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) ‘Paint the City’ initiative, which is aimed at upgrading, beautifying, and reinjecting life into the City.

It was announced then that the 2.5-acre area would be transformed into an inviting leisure space for residents of the surrounding communities.

The Government officials refused to disclose the cost of the project, but declared that they were sure that the park at the corner of Molynes Road and West Main Drive would be a source of pride for residents and the people of surrounding communities.

Last Friday residents of Maverley expressed the belief that the project had been abandoned and their frustration was evident in their voices as they spoke about the issue.

“People a get robbed inna the park because the place bush up. The small business people are at risk because man can be in the bushes to rob and harm them. Just this morning we saw a man bend down in the park. When we check it out, the man was defecating. That is not good,” one woman told the Observer.

One man said,”The park has become a killer trap. Look pon di park. Even when it did look the worst before they said they would fix it, we could see the four corners. Now, the bushes are taller than the people”.

As she prepared her shop to begin accepting customers, a businesswoman told the
Observer that she felt they should not have interfered with the space if they weren’t sure about what they were doing.

“I think they should have left it how it was before because see dem say them a fix it deh and now it look like a jungle. At least in there was clean before,” said the businesswoman who declined to be named.

Several of the residents charged that politics was at play as the section of Maverley where the park is located is considered a People’s National Party stronghold in the St Andrew North Eastern constituency where Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke is the Member of Parliament and Harris, who sits on the Government benches in the KSAMC, is the councillor.

“Apparently them abandon the programme, that is my view. They came with a fanfare about the park and even the prime minister came and told us how many trees he was going to plant. I think this is a political ballgame where one side don’t want the other to get the praise,” said one male resident.

“They made big promises and it look like the money eat off. They built half a wall and planted some rotten trees. It is just a jungle right now. People can walk through and will grab something and bolt off. We would like for this to be published so people can know what is happening. All now we can’t even get what was promised to us,” he added.

The only thing the Observer witnessed done so far to the space was the construction of a low perimeter fence and the planting of some trees which have started to grow wild.

A woman walking through the bushes in what was planned to be a first-world Maverley Park in St Andrew last Friday. (Joseph Wellington)

In this August 2022 file photo (from Left), Andrew Harris, councillor of the Hughenden Division; then mayor of Kingston, Delroy Williams; Member of Parliament for St Andrew North Western, Nigel Clarke; Prime Minister Andrew Holness; Minister of Local Government Desmond Mckenzie; and then minority leader in the KSAMC, Andrew Swaby, break ground for the construction of Maverley Park in St Andrew. (Karl Mclarty)