DARYL Vaz, member of parliament for Portland Western, has agreed with his constituents that roads have been his primary area of focus.

“Roads and water have been my major goals in the first two years, and I think I have been able to improve that significantly,” he said.

Vaz has already spent $300 million, plus $50 million of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), repairing and building roads, breakaways, bridges and culverts in the Buff Bay Valley alone.

“I’ve done roads in Vinery, Lennox, Hopefield, Canewood Rod and the road from Rockhall to Chatsworth Road, which was impassable for the past 20 years. It has opened up eight to 10 communities, including Cooper’s Hill, Dumfries, Durham and Fruitful Vale, and has allowed people to access Hope Bay and St Margaret’s Bay in a much more timely manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, high unemployment levels, irregular water supply, reduced earnings from coffee, and high transportation costs for farmers going outside the parish persist. It is a reality that Vaz has acknowledged.

“Both skilled and unskilled workers are affected because there is not much happening in West Portland,” he concedes.

“The only thing that has helped in the last two years has been the highway. There is a HEART in Buff Bay with a limited curriculum, but even so, what is coming out of there or CASE (College of Arts, Science and Education) has to involve relocation,” he added.

“Tourism and agriculture have been the mainstays of employment for the people in the parish of Portland. I was hopeful that the opening of Dragon Bay, which is a $100-million project, and Trident would have addressed some of that, but unfortunately they were pushed back because of the recession,” the MP further noted.

Vaz said the tourism component is going to be critical in the relationship with agriculture and employment. But he said that before investment and jobs can come to Portland Western, the infrastructure has to be in place, which is why it has been his focus so far.

“I have spent $21 million through the CDF, another $30 million through the National Water Commission replacing pipes, repairing pumps and catchment areas. But the reason they are in this state is that no money has been allocated by central government in the local government budget for it for at least two decades.”

The poor state of the water supply system, compounded by the drought which has effectively dried up several water sources, is the reason for Portland Western’s water woes, the MP said, and not until they are upgraded will the situation improve.

Addressing the high transportation costs farmers experience, Vaz said the Ministry of Agriculture has already started work to establish a system of depots, not just in Portland but across the country, where middlemen will buy from the farmers and resell in other markets.

“Portland has been called the forgotten parish because there was no planning and no infrastructure done… These are problems that will not be solved overnight,” said Vaz, reiterating his position to continue to make representation on behalf of his constituents.