KINGSTON, Jamaica — Member of Parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth North Western, JC Hutchinson, says one of the main concerns faced by his constituents is the frequency in the disruption of electricity supply following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 3.

The Jamaica Labour Party representative said the communities of New Market and Ginger Hill are particularly affected. He was speaking recently as he made his contribution to the 2024/25 State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives.

“In New Market residents complain that nearly every day the electricity goes which poses a huge challenge especially for the business people. Lewisville High School, the New Market health centre, Beersheba Primary School, the police station and other businesses are adversely affected by these frequent outages,” Hutchinson said.

“It is the general belief among the constituents that the area was only patched up to meet the Jamaica Public Service Company’s (JPS) service restoration deadline. I therefore urge JPS to do right for the people of North West St Elizabeth,” Hutchinson added.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson said the New Market Water Supply System has had a number of setbacks, mainly with ownership of the land on which the tanks will be constructed. However, he said he was hopeful that in short order these issues will be resolved so the long-awaited water system will be a reality for the constituents.