ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) St Elizabeth South West candidate Miranda Wellington courted residents in the rural constituency on Friday alongside party leader Mark Golding as the September 3 General Election draws closer.

“Today it was our mission to ensure that the party leader come and meet every single one of you and let you know how important you are to a South West victory. I know that this is one of the most challenging places to come, and I know that you’ve been suffering long and hard for 10 long years,” said Wellington, speaking in Retrieve where she lamented the poor state of the roads in the area.

“You are cut off from society, but I can assure you that every effort would be made to reconnect you back to society and southwest and give you a proper road infrastructure,” she promised.

Wellington, a St Elizabeth native, will face Floyd Green, who is also from the parish, in the general elections come September.

Describing Retrieve as a community with the potential for development and growth, Golding said “When I talk to the gentlemen who I’ve met on the road they have told me that the income of the people here is largely from farming and you’d farm a wide range of things from peanut to salad to the good old ganja and everything in between, and we love the farming community and we want to do a lot for agriculture in this country,” he promised.

Added Golding, “Of course, coming here, I had to drive over the roads, and I know the road conditions are very bad and difficult and we will work on that, Miranda when we form government.”

St Elizabeth South West has been somewhat of a swing seat across general elections, with both the PNP and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) securing victories in the constituency.