MONTEGO BAY, St James — Member of Parliament for St James West Central Marlene Malahoo Forte is blaming underperforming State agencies for the poor condition of roads in Montego Bay which, in turn, leads to traffic jams. She says there is a need for a shake-up in the Government to fix these and other inefficiencies.

The MP is also minister of legal and constitutional affairs.

“For a very long time, there have been people who believe that they don’t have to serve the people,” Malahoo Forte said during a panel discussion on traffic in Montego Bay.

It was part of last Thursday morning’s Global Services Association of Jamaica Breakfast Forum held at Grand-A-View Restaurant and Event Place in Montego Bay. Malahoo Forte was responding to moderator Conrad Robinson’s question about why an MP had to get involved for the fixing of potholes that were impeding traffic on Howard Cooke Boulevard and the intersection of Barnett Street and Westgate Hills.

“There is money in the Government to fix roads and yet the process to fix the roads is so slow. It is true that weather conditions contribute to the delay because you can’t really fix the roads in bad weather. A pothole does not start off being a million-dollar pothole to fix. A pothole does not start off being one that brings traffic to a halt. The attitude in the agencies needs to change,” the MP asserted.

“I have realised ladies and gentlemen that the Government needs a shake-up like it has never been shaken up before. The only reason you organised politically and contested an election is to form a government. And, for a long time there has been a narrative in the country pitting government against politics,” she added.

She spoke of the delicate balancing act that has to be mastered by a political party once it gets into office — governing a country while also keeping its partisan base happy — and cautioned against pandering to party faithful at the expense of governing for all.

“Well, the truth is, if the time comes for anything, the time comes for that kind of foolishness to stop. Time has come for the Government to be led and managed in a way that delivers efficiently to the people,” stated Malahoo Forte.

Weighing in on the discussion, Mayor of Montego Bay Councillor Richard Vernon spoke of the measures he took two weeks ago when traffic gridlock had motorists sitting in their vehicles for more than two hours. He said superintendent of police in charge of St James Eron Samuels had indicated that while poor road conditions contributed to the problem, it was not the reason traffic was at a standstill.

According to Vernon, part of the solution is to dispatch more traffic police at key spots and he had seen the difference it made as he travelled in the western city Thursday morning.

The mayor also pointed to the need for a new approach to transportation.

“What needs to happen in Montego Bay — and by extension, St James and even further, the western belt — we need to organise transportation. People are coming into our city; our city is growing. Montego Bay processes 80 per cent of all flights into Jamaica. We have 30 per cent of all rooms in Jamaica. We have to look at Montego Bay and transportation,” urged Vernon.

“We need a state-of-the-art transportation centre; too many satellite taxi stands, too many bus stops. We need to organise transportation in the city of Montego Bay and then we will have a better situation,” he added.

He said while the under construction Montego Bay Perimeter Road will not eliminate the city’s traffic woes, it will significantly improve the movement of vehicles and reduce congestion. The perimeter road project is expected to be completed in 2026.

In the meantime, according to the mayor, special parish constables with the power to arrest and issue tickets will be dispatched across Montego Bay to enhance the manpower of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

In addition, he said the availability of a large car park is also being explored that will allow commuters to park their vehicles and walk to their destination.

Also during the discussion managing director of Barnett Limited Mark Kerr-Jarrett pointed to a 2003 study which indicated that if 70 per cent of taxis can be removed from the streets and replaced with bigger units such as minibuses and Coaster buses, this could save the country $14 billion in fuel and tyres per year. He said this could also reduce congestion in the city.

Kerr-Jarrett also suggested a transport network is needed with wide enough roads to accommodate dedicated mass transit lanes. He also spoke of the need to address the issue of vehicles illegally parked on the side of roads, impeding traffic flow and making it challenging for passengers who use mass transit to exit these vehicles.

For his part, Deputy Commissioner of Lands Kahvil Parke suggested the need for carpooling and exploring the then COVID-19 protocol of working from home as a means of reducing the number of people on the road at any one time.