Capital Heights gully slated for cleaning
Published:Monday | September 4, 2023 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
DESMOND MCKENZIE, whose portfolio covers the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), says Capital Heights gully in Green Pond, St James, poses a serious flooding concern for Montego Bay and must be fixed.
“We can see that there are significant problems here, and we will provide the funds to clean the drain, because you need to clean sections of the drain in order to ascertain what needs to be done,” said McKenzie, the minister of local government and rural development, during a visit to the parish last week.
He added: “This is the first step that we will take so that the technical team can examine the existing conditions, so that we can work to remedy them.”
On Wednesday, McKenzie, Heroy Clarke, the member of parliament for St James Central, Richard Vernon, deputy mayor of Montego Bay, and technical personnel from the ministry looked at several gullies and bridges while touring the constituency.
“I saw for myself, firsthand, the condition of the drain, which is an old earth drain that exists in the gully, and everybody knows that when Montego Bay floods at times, it is because of the lack of capacity of the North Gully to take the water,” the minister noted.
He disclosed that, following a national disaster preparedness meeting the previous Tuesday, the weather bureau predicted an alarming increase in the number of hurricanes that will form in the region by the end of the season.
“Based on the meeting’s outcome, we anticipate nine more active hurricanes in the region this season, and we see what’s happening in Florida,” he said.
“We cannot afford something that is going to have an impact, and then you have this drain leading into the North Gully that is not in proper working condition. The first order of business is to clean the drain, and once we have done that, we will put the necessary things in place,” McKenzie promised.
McKenzie noted that historically, particularly at the end of August, the beginning of September and at the end of October, there is more hurricane activity in Jamaica.
“We can’t be too prepared, because we don’t know when [a hurricane will arrive], but I can say that the organisational structure for [disaster preparedness] is in place, and if necessary, we can activate,” the minister said. “We are in good standing and the municipalities have been cleaning drains, but there is still some drain cleaning to be done.”