KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesman on Rural and Community Development, Dr Kenneth Russell has accused the Government of abandoning rural Jamaica.

The member of parliament for St Ann South Eastern made the charge on Wednesday during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.

“Today I will prosecute a simple charge. My charge is not that this Government has done nothing. Some roads have been repaired. Water projects have been undertaken. Some programmes have been implemented. My charge is more serious: rural and community development have been abandoned as a national priority by this government,” said Russell.

According to him, the evidence begins with the minister’s (Desmond McKenzie) own sectoral presentation. He noted that the minister’s speech was 23 pages, lasted more than an hour, “and yet, throughout that presentation, the word “rural” appeared not five times, not four times, not three times, not twice, not once but zero times”.

Russell argued that the larger issue is whether rural development exists as a philosophy of Government and, most importantly, whether it exists in the vision for national development.

The first-term MP told the Parliament that Jamaica was a divided nation and that the promise of a better Jamaica was not experienced equally by all citizens.

“For too many Jamaicans, where they live shapes access, opportunity and outcomes. That reality is not accidental. It is not inevitable. And it is not acceptable,” he remarked.

Russell highlighted that almost one in every two Jamaicans live in rural Jamaica with the poverty rate among residents of rural areas being 11.5 per cent compared to three per cent for the Kingston Metropolitan Area.

“So if you live in rural areas, you are four times more likely to live in poverty. Not only is it higher than urban areas and the national average or 8.2 per cent, it declined at a much slower pace than the rest of the country,” he pointed out.

Turning to more statistics, Russell pointed out that approximately 22 per cent of rural children live below the poverty line. He cited that among rural adolescents, 24 per cent live in poverty. He also highlighted that only 54.7 per cent of rural households enjoy safely managed drinking water compared with 78.3 per cent in urban Jamaica.

Russell said household internet access stands at 59.4 per cent in rural communities compared with 71.4 per cent in urban communities, while computer ownership is 18.4 per cent in rural and 31.5 per cent in urban Jamaica.

“The pattern is unmistakable. Things are worse for those living in rural Jamaica,” he said. He also noted that these are not just mere statistics as child poverty is a predictor of future educational outcomes, future health outcomes, future earnings and future national productivity.

“For a Government that used to boast of no new taxes, people in rural Jamaica pay multiple taxes every day: – distance tax, poor roads tax, no water tax, weak connectivity tax, limited transportation tax and delayed access to services tax,” Russell argued.

—        Lynford Simpson