With the onset of the dry season a councillor in the Clarendon Municipal Corporation says he cannot guarantee normalcy within his division, as majority of his constituents have been without running water for more than one year.

Romaine Morris (People’s National Party, Mocho Division) took the National Water Commission (NWC) to task at Thursday’s monthly sitting of the corporation as he charged that its system in Goshen has been down for more than a year.

According to Morris, he is tired of begging for water.

“It’s close to a year now since I raised this matter. I understand that the system in Goshen has been down…and the residents of Mocho are frustrated because persons in Goshen can’t get no water. Persons in White Chapel, Eden and Darlow are also without water.

“I asked NWC about six months ago — and every month since then I ask — what is the update, what is going to be done? And to this day, there is nothing being done. Mr Chairman, the residents are planning to demonstrate and I wouldn’t wrong them. Today is the final time I am going to come here and ask for it because I will be on the road demonstrating with them because I am here today going through the formal medium and I will do what I have to do to represent the people of the Mocho Division,” said a visibly frustrated Morris.

He charged that only about 25 per cent of the Mocho Division is supplied by the NWC system and asked the corporation for additional funding to boost the parish’s water trucking capacity.

Delroy Dawson (PNP, Aenon Town Division) also used the meeting to register his frustration with the NWC, which he accused of neglecting the people he represents.

“At the last council meeting I mentioned some areas within the division where we have a lot of leaks, to date Mr Chairman, those have not been rectified. Instead, they got worse and it is really a waste of resources to be pumping water and millions of gallons of water is running back to the river or on the road,” said Dawson.

“The mosquitoes in the area are unbearable. The health department personnel for the area held a meeting up there yesterday [Wednesday] and they spoke about the breeding of the mosquitoes. The water is just on the road and it’s a disgrace. Last week we mentioned about six, but it doubled this week.

“Nothing is being done, nothing at all and we can’t continue like this. We [are] going to block the road, we a make dem know the road ago block. The students who walk on the road a get flash up and rain not falling, it cannot continue. I talk about it from last meeting and nothing is being done about it so I am telling the NWC again, in Aenon Town, the leaks on the road need to be fixed with immediate effect,” added Dawson.

Godfrey Knight (PNP, Toll Gate Division) added his voice to calls for more funding to be allocated to the municipal corporation for the trucking of water.

“This council cannot provide us as councillors who have drought-stricken areas with the resources to provide water for the residents. It is unbearable for the citizens, it is not good, they are taxpayers, and I believe the Prime Minister [Dr Andrew Holness] and the Minister of Local Government [Desmond McKenzie] should do something about this situation. It is unbearable for them and it is also unbearable for me because they are calling me night and day for trucking of water,” said Knight.

In response, chairman of the corporation Joel Williams said he would follow-up on that matter, adding that the entity had written to both the minister of local government and minister with responsibility for water Matthew Samuda about the issue.