• Category

  • Content Type

Advertisement

NWA Clearing Roads and Doing Assessments

By: , May 18, 2017

The Key Point:

The National Works Agency (NWA) is clearing roads and completing assessments following extensive damage to the infrastructure in several parishes, as a result of the recent heavy rainfall.
NWA Clearing Roads and Doing Assessments
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
A section of the Guy’s Hill main road in St. Catherine that has been severely impacted by recent heavy rains that lashed the island.

The Facts

  • In an interview with journalists, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NWA, E.G. Hunter, said the focus is now on clearing roads to gain access to places most in need of repairs.
  • “Very little reconstruction will be done in the next couple of days. Simultaneously with the clearance of the roads, we will be doing an assessment,” he noted.

The Full Story

The National Works Agency (NWA) is clearing roads and completing assessments following extensive damage to the infrastructure in several parishes, as a result of the recent heavy rainfall.

This has rendered some roads impassable, restricting access to several communities.

In an interview with journalists, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NWA, E.G. Hunter, said the focus is now on clearing roads to gain access to places most in need of repairs.

“Very little reconstruction will be done in the next couple of days. Simultaneously with the clearance of the roads, we will be doing an assessment,” he noted.

“There has to be a process of prioritization, because given our fiscal position, one has to be very smart and very intelligent in terms of how we choose what we work on and when. So, I think the Government is going to require some understanding and some patience, because given the enormity of what we have seen, it is not going to be a cheap exercise,” Mr. Hunter said.

The CEO was part of a team, led by Prime Minister the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness, which toured some of the worst affected areas on May 17.

Other members of the touring party were Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang; Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson; Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Major Clive Davis; Director of Communication and Customer Service, NWA, Stephen Shaw, and representatives from the island’s emergency services.

Among the communities visited were Sunnyside in Linstead, St. Catherine; Douglas Castle, St. Ann; and Cave Valley, which is located on the border of St. Ann and Clarendon.

Jamaica experienced persistent heavy rainfall from May 13 to May 15.

The parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, St. Mary, Portland, and St. Ann have been severely impacted.

The Prime Minister, who was in the Dominican Republic on an official visit, cut short his visit and returned to the island on May 16 to tour the affected communities.

Last Updated: May 18, 2017

Skip to content