Newcomer Henriques defends record, parries criticism

Despite recent outcry over his stewardship in Clarendon North Western, first-time Member of Parliament Phillip Henriques said he is not daunted because he has been doing tremendous work in the area and is well supported by the constituents.

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) newcomer, who defeated incumbent Richard Azan for the seat, recently came under fire from constituents who complained that he defaulted on his promise to address deplorable road conditions and water woes.

The disgruntled constituents, who had registered their dissatisfaction by defacing his office, said he had failed to make a significant impact.

But speaking with The Gleaner on the sidelines of the JLP’s 79th annual conference at the National Arena Sunday, Henriques hit back, claiming that some of the criticism was “contrived”, “not fair”, and “not correct”.

“I would not link my performance just to whether the roads get repaired. The roads are one part of it,” he said, while acknowledging that it was a key concern of farming communities.

The political representative insisted that while many roads in the constituency still require attention, some have been fixed.

“I agree with my constituents 100 per cent. The roads are in very bad shape, but that didn’t just happen in two years.

“It is not something that can be fixed in two years. We will not get to all of them right away, but we are working, and we are doing many things to help the communities,” he said.

That aside, Henriques pointed to the expenditure of $9 million in educational grants across the constituency for tertiary and high-school students. That sum also covered book vouchers, he said.

“We give tremendous amount of assistance in funeral help. We give economic enablement where we help people rebuild their businesses and get young entrepreneurs moving,” he said.

Additionally, Henriques said he is also addressing the water situation in Top Alston and other communities.

He listed other achievements such as the construction of two infant schools, six classrooms at Edwin Allen High, and a new dormitory for the female track team in partnership with the Social Development Commission.

“We have been caring about our people, and I move around through all of this constituency and I am present across the constituency.

“We have four divisions. I don’t see everybody all the time, and I would like to see more people, but you have to balance the work between what you are elected to do and at the same time get round to see everybody,” Henriques said.

Nonetheless, he said he was pleased with the support he has in the constituency.

“Today we could have had 700-800 people coming into the conference, but due to financial constraints, we had to cut that down a considerable amount, but the people are there and they believe,” Henriques said.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com