A mayor close to the ruling Jamaica Labor Party, the opposition roads spokesperson and representatives of two housing estates have all welcomed the suggestion that the government take responsibility for roads in the country’s housing projects. However, they all suggested changes to the proposal.

In a private member’s motion submitted to Parliament on November 12, former Minister of Works Everald Warmington (Jamaica Labor Party, St Catherine South Western) called on the government to “immediately take responsibility” and begin – when funds become available – to repair and rehabilitate these facilities. roads to make them usable.

He made the motion, which he noted he had raised in the past, against the backdrop of decades of neglect that have led to “severe hardship and suffering” for the country’s less fortunate.

Asked to comment on Warmington’s motion, Montego Bay Mayoral Advisor Richard Vernon (Jamaica Labor Party, Montego Bay South Division) described it as a “fair” assessment.

“The existing governance structure has caused many communities to find themselves in no man’s land, particularly subdivisions that were poorly implemented and cheaply approved in the past. Local authorities often respond that a particular community has not been “ceded”; therefore, maintenance cannot be assumed by local authorities,” Vernon told the Jamaica Observer.

“In most cases, the developer is nowhere to be found, so the community is left procedurally unsupervised. It is also true that local authorities are refusing to take responsibility because the development of the situation is poor, which may or may not be due to the negligence of current officers,” he added.

According to Warmington’s motion, developments would only be approved if there is an agreement that “all road infrastructure and common areas” will become state property as soon as land titles are distributed.

The Meadows of Irwin Citizens Association (MOICA) strongly supported his suggestion on how to manage the roads. But he has been reluctant to cede community-owned common spaces, including green spaces, to the government.

“As a gated community, MOICA has invested significantly in creating and maintaining a safe, organized and cohesive living environment. We urge that any action resulting from this motion respects the autonomy of housing projects like ours, allowing us to retain governance of the internal affairs of the community while benefiting from improved management of road infrastructure,” said the MOICA at Sunday Observer.

The Montego West Village Benevolent Society (MWVBS) also provides conditional support for Warmington’s motion, which said its 10 kilometers of road were handed over to the St James Municipal Corporation in 2021. MWVBS pointed out that the roads were deteriorated rapidly and there was no maintenance carried out, although a condition of transfer was that the developer “allocate funds specifically for the maintenance of the road for the first two years “.

He suggests that before taking on additional tasks, the government does a better job of efficiently maintaining existing roads – an undertaking that includes ensuring that taxes are collected fairly so that there are funds available to carry out the necessary work.

The issue of funding was also raised by shadow works minister Mikael Phillips, who told the Sunday Observer The opposition, as a whole, supports Warmington’s call.

“We will not support the central government maintaining the project roads. But (the question) is who takes responsibility for it and how is funding provided to deal with it? If the National Housing Trust is still responsible, what role do they play in maintaining these roads? he thought.

Phillips stressed the need to explore the issue in the context of a broader discussion.

“I’ve been saying for some time that we need to reconsider re-establishing a road maintenance fund, setting it up properly and passing the appropriate legislation so that it can do what it’s supposed to do. We will never, ever be able to fund the maintenance of our roads – whether housing projects, municipal roads or NWA (National Works Agency) roads – with the model we have now. The central government will never be able to finance it as it should. So we need to have this conversation about a proper road maintenance program,” he said.

Mayor Vernon also believes that it is necessary to adopt “a new approach to infrastructure management.” To allow central government to focus on expansion and redevelopment, it wants to see a merger of local NWA offices with municipal roads and works departments to create an agile local body capable of regularly maintaining all local roads, traffic lights and signs. as well as drains and gullies. It would be financed by property taxes, motor vehicle registration fees and funds consolidated in the annual budget.

The Mayor also suggested the need to “establish an infrastructure oversight body” that will ensure that Bureau of Standards Jamaica guidelines are adhered to, procurement procedures are followed, transparency is ensured, performance indicators key performance figures are established and monitoring and evaluation are put in place. in each local organization.

Vernon also called for the conclusion of an ongoing effort by the Ministry of Local Government to compile a database of community roads within each municipality.

“These adjustments would bring a new approach to infrastructure management, but also ensure that the country’s economic success is translated into tangible experience in our communities, where it matters most. If I may say so, a unified national infrastructure authority will not be as effective as an authority created at the municipal level with the required capacity and funding,” he said.