South St James’ Davis ‘undaunted’ despite constituency’s rocky road

Drawing on a quote from Acts 20:35, St James Southern Member of Parliament Homer Davis says it has been a rocky road over the past 12 months but he remains “undaunted” by the sacrifices he must make to upgrade his constituency, which occupies more than half of the parish.

Beginning with a focus on water, Davis said he has made representation to have piped water in several communities and also to improve existing supply.

“Work has commenced on this system (Endeavour) by the National Water Commission (NWC) and is progressing satisfactorily,” Davis told the House of Representatives on Tuesday as he made his contribution to the State of Constituency Debate. “On completion of this project, the residents of Barnett Bush, Springfield, Hampton, Mt Horeb, Fern, Plum, Rushea (Rushi), and adjoining communities will enjoy the flow of potable water in the pipelines. The storage facility in Barnett Bush will also be rehabilitated to facilitate the distribution of the commodity to the named communities.”

Meanwhile, the procurement process has begun for the upgrade of the Tangle River/Roper water-supply system, and new pipes are being laid in areas that have never had piped water.

Additionally, old pipelines are being replaced in Tangle River, Maldon, Summer Hill, Flamstead Gardens, Maroon Town, Garlands, German Town, Top Roper, Bottom Roper, Dundee, and other areas.

“This was made possible through a $53-million allocation made by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness earlier this year,” Davis said.

Regarding the Spring Garden Water-Supply System, Davis said a $19-million allocation will improve that system.

Improvement includes the installation of a solar pumping system and the increase of storage capacity by 10,000 gallons.

Other systems that will be addressed include the Cambridge Treatment Facility, the Lapland water-supply system, and the Shettlewood Plant to Anchovy Water-Supply System, which alone will cost some $600 million. Residents of Mount Carey, York Bush, Carey Village, Cotton Tree Heights, Anchovy, Anchovy Meadows, Anchovy Estate, Roehampton, Marl Road, Mahogany, and Lawson will benefit from the major transmission pipeline project.

Turning to roads, Davis said several parochial roads will be fixed under the SPARK programme. These include Bottom Road and Brissett Road in Cambridge, Richmond Hill to Mafoota, Brother’s Retreat and Horse Guard in Garlands, Catskin in Stonehenge, Maldon Road and Old Jackson Road in Maroon Town, School Road in Niagara, and Comfort Hall to Wales Pond Road.

“Additionally, thanks to this Government’s thoughtfulness, the REACH programme will rehabilitate several community roads. These roads include Rentland and York Bush in Mount Carey, Mars Road, Rockland Road, and Carey Village,” the MP revealed.

He said the first phase in this programme has started, affecting the aforementioned roads.

In phase two, other community roads, such as Cottage Road, Spring Garden, Maldon Road, and Shaw Castle, will be rehabilitated.

Several other roads in the constituency will also be repaired and include inputs from the National Works Agency (NWA), Carib Cement, and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

And with murders in St James showing a decrease of over 31 per cent up to November 23 this year, compared to the similar period last year, Davis applauded the “excellent work” that the security forces in the parish have done.

“As for my constituency, 21 murders and six shootings were recorded in 2023. For 2024, there has been a significant decline, with nine murders and seven shootings recorded as at November 3, 2024,” Davis reported.

He said the Anchovy Police Station is 95 per cent complete and will open in short order.

“And we anticipate that the additional police presence will bring about an even greater reduction in crime and violence and increased public order,” Davis said.

Davis also spoke about agriculture, housing, healthcare, education, and other areas, promising that the best is yet to come.

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