St Catherine water supply scheme woes spark clash between mayor and MP
Published:Monday | February 12, 2024 | 12:09 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
A developing feud between Member of Parliament (MP) for West Central St Catherine Dr Christopher Tufton and Norman Scott, chairman of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, has erupted following complaints from residents about the ineffective implementation of the Government-funded $140-million Watermount Rural Water Supply Scheme, commissioned into service in March of last year.
During a heated town hall meeting held at the Watermount Primary School last Wednesday, Tufton lambasted Scott, who is also the mayor of Spanish Town, for allegedly neglecting his fiduciary responsibilities. Tufton accused the mayor of failing to manage, maintain, and expand the water supply system.
The scheme, aimed at benefiting approximately 7,000 residents across several communities, including Watermount, Pedro, Old Works, Mendez, Black Pastures, Cudjoe Hill, and Brown’s Hall, has fallen short of expectations, according to disgruntled residents.
Residents aired grievances over the lack of promised expansions, inconsistent water supply to connected homes, and delays in establishing connections for thousands who had already made downpayments. Receipts displayed by some residents at the meeting indicated payments made months ago to the St Catherine Municipal Corporation with no progress so far.
Expressing his frustration, Tufton directed criticism towards Scott and the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, especially regarding Scott’s handling of the Point Hill division that he has assumed responsibility for since the death of the sitting councillor, Wesley Suckoo.
“We need to put pressure on the municipal corporation and indeed Mayor Scott,” Tufton told attendees at the town hall meeting.
He continued: “It is important because the water system has been under the control of the municipal corporation and Mayor Scott since it was commissioned.”
He argued that Scott held control over resources allocated to the Point Hill division which the mayor has had responsibility for since Suckoo’s death five years ago.
“The resources that Mr Suckoo would have gotten, although limited sometimes, Mayor Scott should have used to deal with some of the residents’ concerns,” Tufton argued.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE
He noted that Scott, a member of the Opposition People’s National Party, could be influenced by opposing political views, but, if this was a motivation for denying the residents the right to running water, that was not how democracy should function.
However, Scott swiftly rebutted Tufton’s accusations, placing the responsibility for any deficiency in providing resources to the division on the allocation process controlled by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.
Scott dismissed any suggestion of political influence and emphasised that financial constraints were hindering further infrastructure development, adding that he has submitted an estimate to the relevant agency but is uncertain about the progress.
Regarding allegations of inadequate maintenance, management of the system and failure to expand the water supply to the lanes and communities raised by Rural Water Supply Ltd, the agency mandated to carry out inspections, Scott addressed the matter in a letter dated December 1, 2023, a copy of which The Gleaner was able to obtain.
In the letter, Scott attributed the non-response to ongoing changes within the municipal corporation’s leadership. He assured that efforts would be made to rectify residents’ downpayment concerns, possibly before the local government elections.
Two months later, however, the elections were called for February 26 and the concerns of the residents have not yet been resolved.
In response to Tufton’s assertions, Scott urged the MP to engage directly with the minister of local government, Desmond McKenzie, whom he claimed has taken responsibility for allocation of resources to vacant divisions away from the municipal level.
“The minister sits in his office in Kingston and decides how allocations are made to these divisions, so the MP trying to blame me is misinformation. I told him when he approached me on the issue to speak to his minister,” Scott asserted.
The Gleaner understands, however, that Tufton wrote to McKenzie on February, asking the minister to intervene in the matter, “as the impression is being created that it is the government represented by you and the Member of Parliament that is responsible for the suffering of the citizens caused by the lack of action by Mayor Scott and the St Catherine Municipal Authority”.