‘No water nah come pass Kingsland’
Phillips warns that Mandeville project will not be allowed to bypass community
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips has warned that there could be trouble if residents of Kingsland are not included among those to benefit from the Greater Mandeville Water Supply System now being implemented.
The $4.5-billion project has been touted as the largest expenditure on any water system in Manchester in Jamaica’s history and is planned to move the commodity from the plains of St Elizabeth, up Spur Tree, and into Mandeville.
But Phillips, who has long advocated that communities along the main pipeline of the Greater Mandeville Water Supply project get potable water, issued his warning at a People’s National Party’s (PNP) Manchester parish meeting in Christiana on Sunday.
“Dem a colour the water, so if you not a JLP-controlled constituency, you cant get nuh water. Look how long you have Audley Shaw up here and a JLP [Jamaica Labour Party] inna power and unuh still can’t get nuh water,” Phillips said before turning his attention to the water woes in Kingsland, just west of Mandeville.
“Because they bringing the water from St Elizabeth and it haffi pass through Kingsland, which is north-west Manchester pon one side and south Manchester pon one side, and if the people of Kingsland can’t get water, then nuh water nah come pass Kingsland,” said Phillips.
“Because how you fi carry water come inna the town of Mandeville and the same communities that you are passing nuh have nuh running water. That a nuh justice, and we want justice,” added Phillips.
Last week, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced that in the coming weeks residents of Manchester will benefit from another phase of the Greater Mandeville Water Supply and promised to deliver the precious commodity to the entire parish.
“I want to bring you up to date that very soon, in a matter of weeks, we should be able to commission the Greater Mandeville Water Supply System,” Holness said at a Jamaica Labour Party workers’ appreciation meeting at Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester North Eastern.
“This brings water from the plains of St Elizabeth up Spur Tree and into Mandeville and that will serve not just central Manchester, but it will help south Manchester and north-west Manchester, and that is a very huge project,” added Holness.
The Pepper well field, downslope at low altitude in St Elizabeth, is the main source of water for Mandeville, which is more than 2,000 feet above sea level, atop the Manchester Plateau.
Mandeville and surrounding communities have struggled with water shortage for decades, with town elders insisting that the problem has hindered growth.
Many households in Manchester, and the wider south-central Jamaica, have had to rely on rainwater harvesting.
The long-standing issue of water supply has not only affected households, but commerce, with businesses suffering from the inconsistency in supply.
