MAXINE Henry Wilson accepts that she has largely been missing in action in St Andrew South Eastern since the start of this term in 2007.

“I think that’s a fair comment,” she told the Sunday Observer in response to claims made by constituents.

“It has been for a combination of reasons. I had indicated quite early that I did not intend to run again and I was hoping for a smooth transition, but I think I overdid it (by giving too much space). Another part of it is the experience of going into the community but that’s not an excuse; you just have to manage it,” she added.

In her defence, the MP, who has been representing the constituency since 2002 and who will be replaced by Julian Robinson as the People’s National Party’s candidate in the next general elections, said she may not have always been physically present but that she has been doing representational work the whole time.

“I haven’t changed my mind (about running again), but this is important for the credibility of the electoral process, for people to know that I am still in office,” she said.

To this end, Henry Wilson, the former minister of education, said she has tried in the past few months to repair the missing in action image by making more visits to schools and educational institutions.

Education has been one of her priorities in the constituency and as such, much of the Constituency Development Fund has been spent upgrading the 12 basic schools in the area, as per the requirements of the Early Childhood Commission.

“The major thing we have focused on as part of human development is education. We have been upgrading basic schools by making sure they have fire extinguishers, by refurbishing toilets and kitchens, by setting up play areas, putting in fences, and making sure operators get police records and food handler’s permits.

“I focus a lot on those kinds of programmes because the community is very diverse and it needs a lot of human resource development,” she said.

In fact, Henry Wilson hopes state-of-the-art basic and primary school facilities will be one of the legacies of her two terms in office.

“I don’t worry too much about the secondary schools since the constituency has several of the so-called brand name schools and those that aren’t so-called brand name schools are still doing well,” she said.

The other legacy she hopes to bequeath is that of peaceful communities.

“There is a lot of outbreak of violence. Some of it we’re not even sure what or when it started. But if they are peaceful then people will find things for themselves to do,” she said.

Henry Wilson said she would also like to see an improvement in the constituency’s housing stock.

“One of the major deficits of the community is housing,” she said, using the example of Swallowfield which she called “pathetic”.

“We have put in water and sewage but it is a very densely populated area and the housing stock is non-existent… This is what I would love to (leave behind) — good housing. I would also like to rescue the housing stock because there is good housing stock in the constituency,” she said.

Speaking to the issue of unemployment, Henry Wilson stressed that MPs do not create jobs.

“Unemployment is a national problem and MPs do not create jobs. We can do short-term things, but we don’t have a grant for employment. One of the main problems is the preparation of people for the job market so we direct people to training agencies,” she said.

The MP said she had set up, through the Rural Agricultural Development Agency, chicken-rearing employment projects like several other constituencies. However, given the small urban space in which her constituents live, public health problems surfaced, causing the programmes to be discontinued.

The alternative, she said, is a training programme in floral arrangement, pastry making and catering. It will only be for 50 women at the outset.

“It will be run for five days during the Easter break. Those are some of the things we can do to try and mitigate unemployment,” Henry Wilson said.

She said two major roads — Burkley and Manhattan roads — in the constituency were reconditioned last year with money not from the CDF but funds which were raised independently. She also said the gully stretching from Deanery Road and “a couple roads along the way” were repaired after Hurricane Gustav. The Jacques Road gully, however, was not done.

“It needs to be repaired. I will speak with the councillor and the mayor,” she said.

Speaking of Jacques Road, a community off Mountain View Avenue with ties to the Jamaica Labour Party, Henry Wilson insisted that contrary to the residents’ claims that she was refusing to replace the roof of the community centre, it was the residents who were against her doing the repairs.

“I said I would have put up some money to repair the centre and I sent someone out there to do the assessment, but I was told the people didn’t want it,” she said, noting that the incident happened this year.