THERE is fear that the situation of bad roads in Newport West could escalate into serious problems after a truck fitted with a container overturned recently while attempting to manoeuvre a massive pothole.

An even greater problem exists, stemming from the fact that there is no entity that seems to want to claim responsibility for fixing those deplorable roads in the shipping community.

As the battle continues over who is responsible, Geofrey Ziadie, the owner of tyre company Chad-Ad Distributors, said it is the Government that needs to intervene. But according Robert Nesta-Morgan, the minister with responsibility for works, the roads within Newport West are not the Government’s responsibility to fix. He told the Jamaica Observer that the roads are private roads, but at the same time the Government wasn’t against partnering with the business people in that area share the work.

Ziadie, however, insists that there is no such thing as a private road.

“Picture a truck with a 40-foot container that is going in there and because of the angle he is going into the pothole, it turns over. What if somebody is driving beside the container and it fell on them? They would be dead,” Ziadie said.

“What I can tell you is that there are not many adjectives I can use to describe the horrible situation of the roads, and the drains, and just the appearance of Newport West — I am embarrassed to call it where I operate my business from. More importantly, this is the entrance to our economy. This is the port of Kingston, where our economy starts to grow from, and this is how our Government leaves the roads?

“Two weeks ago a container turned over because it fell in a pothole,” Ziadie added, sharing that it is a regular occurrence for trucks and other motor vehicles to get stuck in one of the many large potholes, especially when they are filled with water from heavy rains.

Ziadie said he has been operating his business in Newport West for more than 30 years, and in relation to when the roads need fixing, all he has seen is the various government entities trying to distance themselves from the situation.

“All I have heard over my 30 years of being here is that Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation [KSAMC] says it is not them and that the National Works Agency [NWA] is responsible. The NWA says it’s not them and it’s KSAMC’s responsibility. As far as I am concerned, both parties are the Government. Why would it be private? I don’t know of any private roads in Jamaica; I think all roads are manned by the Government. If we don’t get something done really soon I think it is going to lead to something drastic and might even cost somebody their life if it is not fixed — and I would hate to see that happen. Who would have the onus on their shoulders at that time? Is it the Government?” he asked.

The Observer visited Newport West on Tuesday and witnessed motorists struggling to move about due to the deplorable condition of the roads. Some of the potholes were so huge that motorists had to be crawling through them so as to not damage their motor vehicles. The newspaper was told that this causes a build-up of traffic sometimes.

Among the motorists spotted trying gingerly to make their way through the potholes was the driver of a Mercedes Benz motor car.

“This place is making billions of dollars. It shouldn’t be like this. It is very, very bad. I move up and down every day and it mash up the vehicles. Some people get trapped; and especially when it rains, we have to pull people out of the holes. It is like a swimming pool in your backyard. Government need fi do something. Even though it might not be [a] government road, if you kill a man right here so the Government will come in and will have to investigate it so it is still part of Government’s responsibility,” the driver of the Mercedes reasoned.

The Observer was told by people who work in the area that the roads started deteriorating around six months ago.

But Morgan was adamant on Tuesday that it is not the Government’s responsibility. He told the Observer that the intention is not to be at war with the “shipping people”.

“The prime minister and myself received correspondence from the Shipping Association of Jamaica. To be fair to them, they have been seeking our support with the challenges they are facing. The issue, though, is that the roads at Newport West are not NWA roads. The Government would have, in the past, including last year, expended many millions of dollars to assist the businesses in that area with patching and so on. There was a drain issue and we were engaged on a World Bank project to create a proper drain for the area but the challenge is that the roads are not government roads.

“I wrote to the head of the Shipping Association this morning and I said that if there were any government roads in Newport West the NWA would repair them and we could do a shared cost programme; and the other roads that are not government roads, we would share the cost with the businesses at Newport West to repair the roads. There were discussions two years ago that the KSAMC should take over the roads in various sections of the port, because they are not major roads. As minor roads they would come under the remit of the parish council. I don’t think the discussion has gone anywhere,” Morgan said.