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...Petition launched after road budget slashed

Residents of St Thomas have launched a petition calling on Prime Minister Andrew Holness to deliver on his promise to construct a highway through the centre of the parish.

"St Thomas needs good roads too. Stop cutting funding for the Southern Coastal Highway," reads the petition, which has been created on the change.org portal.

More than 3,000 people have signed the petition which was started by Albion Estate Citizens Association.

"The residents of St Thomas are extremely upset with this latest announcement by the minister of finance that another $1.7 billion will be shaved off the Southern Coastal Highway Project. We consider this a slap in the face and are demanding that action be taken to give us the road we obviously need. No roads means no investment," the petition says.

After first allocating $3.6 billion in this year's budget to begin work on the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project, the Government twice has cut the budget, and is now projecting to spend only $490 million on it this year.

The Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project refers to the planned development of the stretch of road from Harbour View in St Andrew, through St Thomas, into Portland.

Some 16 kilometres of the road from Harbour View to Yallahs Bridge will be widened to accommodate four lanes of traffic.

Work still planned

Major rehabilitation works have been planned for 93 kilometres of main road from Yallahs Bridge to Port Antonio and 27.5 kilometres of main road from Morant Bay to Cedar Valley.

The Government first cut $1.4 billion from the project last September, and is proposing to remove another $1.7 billion from the project before the fiscal year ends in March.

In a media release issued on Saturday, Member of Parliament for Eastern St Thomas Dr Fenton Ferguson said the delay in the start of the highway is another clear indication of Government's disregard for the plight of the people of St Thomas.

He said the people of St Thomas and in the diaspora have waited patiently for the start of this project, and they are being treated as if they are undeserving of this modern development that will open up the parish to housing, tourism, agriculture, sport and culture and to a wide range of necessary investments, the end result of which is economic growth and job creation.

"This issue will not be allowed to just die a natural death, I will continue to advocate for the people I represent. They will not be treated as second-class citizens in their own country. This has gone on for far too long," Dr Ferguson said.

Here are some of the reasons why persons have signed the petition:

Hope Smith: "People of St Thomas have been suffering for too long."

Daphne Burke: "St Thomas could be a prime tourist destination, but we need good roads."

Shelly-Ann Pinnock: "Too long we have been left to drive on tracks. We are contributing citizens to the economy and should be treated as such. If our products are good enough to be taken from the parish and used for the benefit of all, [for] example sand, why should we then be constantly left to drive on these primitive and poorly constructed roads?"

Zanoya Bennett: "I see this petition as a start to letting our voices be heard. But I think if WE, the people of St Thomas, all come together and not vote at all for neither the JLP nor PNP, then it will speak at a louder volume. #wishful thinking!"

Alexia Davis: "Just yesterday, someone from another parish was joking about St Thomas, the forgot parish. This should not be so. Through tourism, employment and refurbished infrastructures St Thomas can offer, and benefit from, so much more."

Paul Wilson: "For too long, St Thomas has been neglected, for too long we have had to be spendiing so much to repair our vehicle which have been damaged while using the major roads in our parish."

Melonie Mills: "St Thomas has been neglected for years and it's full time they get a facelift."

Recordo Richard: "It's about time St Thomas started to be treated like a part of Jamaica."