Water to be Trucked to All Areas of St. Elizabeth

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Ian Hayles, has announced that funds will be made available to all Members of Parliament and Councillors in St. Elizabeth, for the immediate trucking of water to farmers and residents in drought-affected areas of the parish.

He was speaking at a press conference, held at the BB Coke High School in Junction, St. Elizabeth, on July 3, after a comprehensive tour of affected areas, such as Flagaman, Round Hill, Cheapside, Lititz, Comma Pen and Bull Savannah.

“I have toured sections of St. Elizabeth and I have never seen drought conditions like this before,”   the State Minister said.

Mr. Hayles said an allocation of $2 million will be made to the Rapid Response Unit of the National Water Commission (NWC) to deploy three 8,000 gallon trucks to ensure that water is distributed to households and farmers.

“Every project for the parish of St. Elizabeth, in terms of pump and tank, will be moved forward and it will not be a phase 1 and phase 2 as we are going to be doing them all at once.  St. Elizabeth plays an important role as the food basket parish for the rest of the country; therefore this (drought) problem must be approached in a united way,” he emphasized.

He noted that a sum of  $454 million will be allocated to deal with the problems that the people of St. Elizabeth are facing in relation to potable and reliable water.

The State Minister said  he will be meeting with the Members of Parliament to ensure that plans  are in place for proper monitoring of the programme, and for the new initiative to  be sustainable.

Mr. Hayles is appealing to all residents and especially motorists, not only in St. Elizabeth, but across Jamaica, to ensure that they conserve water as much as possible.