‘Stop ignoring mining communities’, pleads Russell

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Member of Parliament (MP) for St Ann South Eastern, Dr Kenneth Russell, is insisting that the time has come for communities in the bauxite mining belt to see tangible benefits from mining activities.

“For generations, South East St Ann has contributed to Jamaica's prosperity through mining of bauxite and limestone. Yet, communities experiencing active mining have among the worst roads and least reliable access to piped water,” said Russell.

“Ask the people of Gibraltar, Harmony Vale, Golden Grove or Orange Park,” he added.

Russell addressed the issue in the House of Representatives on Tuesday during his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate. The Opposition MP also told the Government to “put South East St Ann in the Budget”.

He highlighted that “mining companies extract and destroy but do very little to restore. Even the basic which they are required to do is not done – dust money not paid, lands not restored, infrastructure damaged not fixed”.

The first-term MP said his constituents were not asking for charity, political favours or handlouts. He declared that mining communities are the ideal cases for reparatory development.

“We demand a national commitment to repair accumulated development deficits, restore productive assets and ensure that communities share in the wealth they help create.

“We have been taken for granted for much too long. So I want our message to this House to be clear – the days of extraction without reinvestment must end,” said Russell.

Addressing what he called the cost of neglect, Russell told the Parliament that when he visits other constituencies in the parish he is able to drive on the left side of the road. “In my own constituency I couldn’t, I had to drive on what is left of our roads,” he said.

According to him, both the National Works Agency and the Minister of Works agree that almost every single road in his constituency requires rehabilitation.“The state of the roads in South East St Ann has reached crisis point. Simply put, they are a danger to people,” said Russell. He called for roads serving schools to be given priority treatment while describing the road serving Golden Grove Primary as a disgrace. “It is a pond now that it is raining and a dust bowl when it’s dry. Our children and teachers deserve to go to school without putting their health at risk,” he said.

Russell told the Parliament that he welcomed the SPARK programme under which several roads in the constituency are being rehabilitated including at Johnny Spring and Cross Roads to New Hall. He said he was looking forward to the other SPARK roads being completed. He also said the way resources are allocated for patching and how contractors are hired and managed must be revisited with urgency. He pointed to night time patching in the countryside without light, patching in the rain, and  sub-standard material being used, resulting in roads starting to break-up almost immediately after they are fixed, as reasons for a revision.

Russell also called for the rehabilitation of the roadway running from Mount Diablo to Moneague. He highlighted that the Class A road is the designated alternative to the toll road. “People who cannot afford the toll must still have a safe road to travel,” he insisted.

The Opposition MP said the infrastructure challenges in his constituency were not limited to roads. He pointed to embankments that have broken away and bridges that are in urgent need of attention. “Since last November, I have asked repeatedly about embankments that broke away in the hurricane. There are two between Alderton and Nine Mile and three in the White Hall area of Blackstonedge. Despite my advocacy, as my mother would say, kannanapu [nothing but silence],” said Russell.

He said the bridge linking St Ann to Clarendon in Pedro, the bridge linking St Ann to St Mary in While Hall, and the bridge connecting Moneague to Golden Grove require urgent attention.

The lawmaker told the Parliament that resilience was not a substitute for investment as he pointed to the inadequate water supply in his rural constituency. He shared that since May of this year, every major water facility serving the constituency at Shaw Park, Claremont and Thatch Hill has experienced extended shut down of over three weeks.

“As I speak, the Moneague Well has been out of service since the end of September – that is almost six weeks,” he said. He acknowledged the planning being done with the Minister of Water while pointing to the Green Park Well, expansion of the Walkerswood line, expansion of Shaw Park to Beecher Town, and expansion of the line from Claremont to Higgin Town.“We celebrate the resilience of rural Jamaicans but resilience is not an inexhaustible resource,” Russell remarked, while highlighting the plight of farmers who he noted have endured Hurricane Beryl, Hurricane Melissa and now a devastating drought.

“People's means of survival are repeatedly destroyed, they receive little support, and then we praise their resilience. Even the most resilient cannot flourish without investment,” he declared. He demanded “an immediate recovery package for affected registered farmers, including planting material, fertiliser, and irrigation support to restart production". This, he said, would restore Jamaica’s food security.

Russell also said small businesses devastated by these disasters must get assistance. He said that support is needed now, not in the next budget.

— Lynford Simpson