Councillors upset about NWA working on municipal roads under SPARK programme
Published:Saturday | July 13, 2024 | 12:05 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
A late start to the consultation held in Eastern Hanover recently did not help to ease residents’ concerns about the workings of the $40 billion Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Development to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.
This, as moderator of the event, Stephan Reid, used the late start as an excuse to rush through the evening’s proceedings, and closed the session without entertaining questions around concerns that the National Works Agency (NWA) will be the implementing agency for the SPARK Programme; that the funds are inadequate; and which roads would be worked on first.
The consultation, held at Hopewell Sports Complex in the Orchard Housing Scheme in Hanover, on Monday, June 24 had a packed community centre waiting for over an hour for the arrival of a team headed by Reid.
After rushing through preliminaries upon their arrival, Reid, who is from the Constituency Development Fund Programme Management Unit (CDFPMU), gave an overview of the planned SPARK programme. He stated that approximately $150 million will be made available to the member of parliament (MP) in the first phase of the programme, for the rehabilitation of minor roads in that constituency.
“It (the programme) will be split into two components. The first component will be that of your local roads, and then the second component will be that of the main roads,” he stated.
He said the consultation was to collect the names of local roads that need rehabilitation.
“And, for that (first component), $20 billion is allocated, and, from the start, each MP will receive $150 million towards their constituency,” he emphasised.
He outlined some of the criteria for the named roads to be considered under the programme. These include; proximity to churches, essential services, schools, police stations and health facilities, among others, and also whether the road is part of an alternative route to reach a community, as well as the size of the population that the road serves.
He then directed the meeting into naming roads. These were many, and came fast and furious from the attendees. The sole recording personnel who came with Reid had a hard time keeping up with the names being forwarded.
JOINED-UP APPROACH
The meeting almost fell into chaos, however, when George McHayle from the Haughton Grove area in the Chester Castle division – while at the microphone naming roads in his area in great need of repair – stated that MP Dave Brown should be ashamed to be hearing that so many roads in his constituency are in need of work.
“You should not even present yourself here tonight. If I were you, I would hide, as no MP should feel good to hear that there are so many dilapidated roads in his or her constituency,” McHayle said to loud objections from sections of the audience.
With the three sitting councillors in the constituency present, and with Reid trying to close the evening’s proceedings, councillor for the Sandy Bay division and sitting deputy Mayor of Lucea Andria Dehaney-Grant demanded an opportunity to ask some questions to clarify aspects of the programme.
Foremost among Dehaney-Grant’s questions were: Which will be the implementing agency under the programme? How far can the $150 million stretch? and, What of the 10 roads in each division that councillors were asked to recommend for the same programme?
“We are hoping that you are thinking about some additional funding for all these roads that are being recommended, or is it the case where some recommendations are being made and nothing will become of them?” she queried.
“NWA is the implementing agency for it (the programme), so they will be partnering with the municipal corporations, so it’s going to be a joined-up approach,” Reid explained, much to the disgust of councillors present.
He refused to entertain any more questions, however, arguing that he needed to close the meeting as it had had a late start.
In his haste to close the meeting, he asked that just one verse of the National Anthem be sung and adjourned the meeting.
In an interview with The Gleaner later, Reid stated that he tried to expedite the meeting to prevent it from evolving into a political scenario.
Pressed on a timeline for results from the meeting, he explained, “The selection process should be completed by the end of August/September, and we are looking forward to implementation in October.”
Dehaney-Grant told The Gleaner that, based on her analysis, the amount of money being granted for the roads cannot suffice.
“A number of persons recommended two roads or more, and I believe that, based on the number of roads being recommended, that amount of money is just a tip in the bucket,” she stated.
“I also have a problem in terms of how is it that the roads that are supposed to be the responsibility of the municipal corporation are going to be repaired through the member of parliament. Why?” she asked rhetorically.
She questioned the role of the Ministry of Local Government and the municipal corporations in the whole process, while expressing hope that more clarity will be forthcoming in the near future.