Manchester Southern MP missing in action

CONSTITUENTS IN Manchester Southern have expressed their dissatisfaction with the performance of Member of Parliament Robert Chin, labelling him as an absentee representative.

One resident, who declined to be named, said: “Chin is 95 per cent failing. It better we get back Mr Stewart,” she said of the People’s National Party’s (PNP) caretaker Michael Stewart, who lost the seat in the September 2020 general election by 890 votes. Stewart polled 5,936 votes to Chin’s 6,826.

On a recent visit to the area, residents across the constituency lamented the deplorable road conditions and the lack of or limited access to water and electricity.

Among the disgruntled residents were bike taxi operators, who identified the poor road conditions as a hindrance to their livelihood.

One operator, who gave his name as ‘Money Speak’, said: “It come in like the road a nuh fi bike. Dem need fi do a better ting with our road. Dem cyaa just have it (the road) suh, cause a wi bread (earnings).”

Money Speak told The Gleaner that many residents depend on the bike operators’ services, especially on Sundays when cars are scarce.

Elaine Escoe, who is from Dawkins in Redberry, was livid as she complained about the lack of representation from the first-time MP.

“Mi nuh know mi MP. Mi never see him yet. Mi nuh know if him black, white, pink, purple or yellow,” said Escoe.

She argued that Dawkins had been forgotten for years, and demanded that the community get more attention and investment, as residents are deserving of a comfortable life.

“Mi nuh have no good road an’ mi nuh see no MP. Nobody come up deh so. Mi nuh have no water, no light. This yah situation nuh good. Buy mi haffi buy water. Yuh know how much fi di 1,000 gallon? Six thousand dollars! Weh mi fi get dat an’ a hand to mouth mi a work. Mi haffi buy water an’ the minimum wage is very low,” she lamented.

The rugged terrain from Redberry leading to St Toolies stands as evidence of the residents’ woes.

Attempts to contact Chin have been unsuccessful, as calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.

In his State of the Constituency Debate presentation recently, Chin defended his stewardship. He said that three road projects, each costing $20 million, have been completed so far. They include Bossue Lane, Cocoa Walk, and Downs Road.

“It should be noted that, if my predecessors were fixing a mile of road every year in office, then we wouĺd have been connected to both our neighbours in Clarendon and Manchester,” he outlined in his presentation.

He has also pledged to have the following roads, among others, pothole-free by 2023: Gutters to Downs, Gutters to Spur Tree, Downs to Lititz, Downs to Rowes Corner, Rowes Corner to Restore, Restore to Rudd’s Corner, Spring Ground to Bull Savanna, and Alligator Pond to Guts River.

However, 76-year-old Phillip McLean, who has called the St Toolies community home for decades, echoed the discontentment expressed by residents of neighbouring Redberry.

“The condition we are experiencing here, it is not pretty and, to be truthful, I don’t know Mr Robert Chin and he is member of parliament for South Manchester,” said McLean, adding that he had only seen Chin in photographs.

“I don’t see where him doing anything, ‘cause him nuh do anything ‘roun yah, the councillor do a little,” the elderly resident contended. “I would rate she [Porus Division Councillor Claudia Morant-Baker] maybe five per cent, and Mr Chin, three per cent. I couldn’t give him more than that,” he continued, pointing out that the former MP, Michael Stewart, provided better representation.

“He was better-performing because the PNP in this constituency always do better than the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party,) because, over the years, it is known as a PNP constituency, more than a JLP constituency,” McLean insisted.

Morant-Baker, in defending her performance as councillor for the area, said that the majority of the roads were in a deplorable state when she won the division five years ago. She insisted, however, that her interventions have resulted in over 50 roads being repaired.

“Now with MP Robert Chin – who he and I sit under the same umbrella (political party,) I will get additional resources, because, since he has been [MP], within a year, I have gotten over $6 million for road repairs. I know it could be more, but I’m expecting a better turnaround this year, but there’s a great improvement in the road conditions since I’ve been there,” Morant-Baker told The Gleaner.

Admitting that there are locations across the division that are still in a deplorable state, Morant-Baker said the improvements to Porus and surrounding communities are a work in progress.

Stewart, who described himself as a hard worker, said better road conditions, water, training, and employment opportunities are atop his agenda, if he is reinstated as member of parliament.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com