KINGSTON, Jamaica—Member of Parliament for St James Central Heroy Clarke has hailed the Montego Bay Perimeter Road project as one that has the potential to open up new lands in the parish which he notes faces a shortage of housing.

“This is not just a road project. This is a transformational development for St James and for the entire western Jamaica. Every Jamaican who has driven into Montego Bay knows the traffic problem we are now experiencing. The perimeter road will address that frontally. It will decongest the city, reduce travel time, improve productivity, and improve the quality of life for every commuter, taxi operator, and businessman,” said Clarke.

He was speaking Tuesday in the House of Representatives during his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate.

He added that, “More importantly for St James Central, this project has opened up lands that were locked away for decades. Lands that were inaccessible are now accessible. And this gives rise to address new housing developments that will address our housing situation”.

Clarke, who is also deputy speaker of the House, told the Parliament that St James Central is 77 per cent informal.

“I have started meeting with the residents of Green Tank, Bay Route, Farm Hill, Rose Mount, with the National Housing Trust and Housing Agency of Jamaica, to start the process of regularising the informal settlements,” Clarke shared.

“It is my desire that every resident of this great constituency, St James Central, will be able to acquire their land title and own a piece of this paradise called Jamaica,” he remarked.

Clarke, who first won the seat in 2016, told his fellow lawmakers that St James Central has become the space where people from all other areas come to find work. “We are the economic engine; persons from Westmoreland, Hanover, Trelawny, St Elizabeth, St Ann, they come to [St James] Central to work in tourism, in the BPO [business process outsourcing] sector, in construction, in commerce. But where do they live? They live with us. This has put tremendous pressure on housing in [St James] Central,” said Clarke.

He said the perimeter road, by opening up new lands, gives the Government the opportunity to build more affordable housing solutions for the people who keep the economy moving.

“And we are ready for it. We are also blessed with health infrastructure. The Cornwall Regional Hospital rehabilitation and the development of the Western Child and Adolescent Hospital – these two hospitals mean that we will now be better able to serve the people of the entire western end of the country,” Clarke said.

The deputy speaker noted that healthcare is being brought closer to the people, with world-class facilities in St James. Noting that the three health clinics in the constituency have been rehabilitated courtesy of the CHASE Fund and the Ministry of Health, he cited that it was not happening in isolation. “It is happening because of the continued partnership between Government and private investors for the continued infrastructural development of the western belt”.

He urged his fellow parliamentarians to: “Look around Montego Bay; the many hotels, the new restaurants, the places of entertainment, the BPO complexes, the warehouses, the housing developments. This is what confidence in a Government looks like. This Government has created an environment where investment thrives. And what does investment mean for St James Central? It means jobs on top of jobs for Jamaicans: jobs for our youth, jobs for our mothers; jobs for our fathers. In [St James] Central, unemployment is no longer a sentence, because opportunity is knocking every day”.

—Lynford Simpson