$170m for Hague
HAGUE, Trelawny — Water, Housing and Environment Minister Dr Horace Chang has announced a $170 million infrastructure programme for the section of the vast Hague community, that houses scores of residents who were relocated last December from the informal settlement at Dump in Falmouth.
The project, he said, will begin next week.
The announcement comes in the wake of concerns raised by the Trelawny Health Department about the lack of a proper waste disposal system in the community, which accommodates more than 180 householders.
“The need for the project was precipitated by the urgent need for a proper waste disposal system in the area,” Dr Chang told the Observer West, adding that the absence of such a facility has prompted the health authorities to threaten “to lock down the place.”
According to Chief Medical Officer of Health for Trelawny, Dr Marcia Campbell, the health department has become unhappy with the slow pace at which it is taking for the housing ministry to implementation a proper waste disposal system in the community.
” We are in dialogue with the HAJ (Housing Agency of Jamaica) but we are not satisfied with the pace at which this is going,” she said, noting that the matter is of grave concern.
Almost seven months ago, the housing ministry demolished several illegal structures at Dump and relocated the residents, in a move to facilitate the multimillion -dollar cruise ship pier development in the seaside town of Falmouth.
Since then, the relocated residents have been complaining bitterly about the lack of infrastructure and the deplorable conditions under which they live.
In the meantime, Dr Chang said, funding for the infrastructure project, is being made available by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) through a loan from the Petro Caribe Fund.
He revealed that the funds will be used for the processing of titles, the implementation of a proper water and sanitation system and the construction of roads in the newly established community.
The implementing agency will be the (HAJ), he added.
Yesterday during a visit to the depressed community, residents told the Observer West about the hardships they have been experiencing, due to the lack of a proper waste system and other amenities.
One of the residents said her family had to dig holes with a shovel to dispose of their waste, while another spoke of the ‘parachute’- a system whereby they hurl away plastic bags containing their faeces.
Additionally, they say, the absence of proper roads has triggered fears among them, about the inability of emergency vehicles, such as ambulance to traverse the area, especially when it rains.
In the face of these hardships, most of the residents who spoke with the Observer West say they are appreciative of the announced infrastructure programme.
A few, however, were sceptical.
” I have heard this kind of thing before, however, the idea is a nice one and we appreciate it, but I would love to see it started first,” said Roy Lawrence, a resident of the community.
Roy Robinson, another resident, also expressed guarded optimism about the project.
” We appreciate all of that (plans for infrastructure work) but we have been up here for seven months and is like we have been forgotten,” he argued.
Meanwhile, Jamaica Labour Party caretaker/candidate for North Trelawny, Senator Dennis Meadows has lauded the HAJ for the initiative.
” Having made public calls and written to the Minister of Housing, Dr Horace Chang on the poor conditions under which the families were relocated; lacking in basic amenities such as sewerage, poor water supply and electricity. I am pleased to learn that the housing agency will be facilitating the infrastructural works,” Senator Meadows stated in a release.
Phillip Service, the People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the Martha Brae Division also welcomed the project, noting however, that it was “way behind” schedule.
” The infrastructure work is long overdue. If I had my way, work would have been done before the residents were relocated,” he argued.