Cheswick in St. Thomas to Benefit from Rural Development Programme

The Cheswick community, located in St. Thomas, is to benefit from the Rural Development Programme, which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, toured the community on Tuesday (August 30), where he observed some of the challenges affecting residents and met with stakeholders who will be instrumental in facilitating the upgrades.

Speaking with journalists following his tour, the Minister said the current infrastructure of the community is ‘non-existent’ and that residents have complained of a lack of adequate and reliable water supply.

“What we are going to be rolling out in Cheswick over the next couple of months is the process to carry out the repairs to Hill 60 (a section of the community), and Rural Water Supply will work with the National Water Commission to look at how to improve the water supply system to the community,” Mr. McKenzie informed.

Until these developments are completed, he pointed out that funds will be provided to have water trucked to the area.

Additionally, the Minister noted that the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Rural Electrification Programme (REP) have identified 100 households within the community for retrofitting, which will commence shortly.

“I want to make the point that we are not going to retrofit 100 houses and just leave them like that. The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) will come in at the beginning of the process and they will be a part of the discussions with JSIF and REP on the rewiring of these houses, to make these residents eligible to be connected officially to the JPS system,” Mr. McKenzie said.

Another upgrade for the community is the provision of six social-housing units for qualified residents. For this, the Minister explained that the parish’s Municipal Corporation has commenced investigations to identify the beneficiaries.

Furthermore, from a survey undertaken by the Social Development Commission (SDC), it was identified that the community is in need of a basic school and a recreational space.

Noting that the community is home to a great percentage of young people, Mr. McKenzie committed that, “after we have concluded all the other arrangements, we will erect a basic school and a community centre and we will restore the playing field as the recreational ground for this community”.

In his remarks, Mayor of Morant Bay, Councillor Michael Hue, expressed gratitude for the selection of the community for the series of developments.

“This demonstrates that even as deep rural, you can be recognised and you can feel a sense of pride knowing that the Government cares and you are not forgotten”.

He urged community members to embrace and protect the facilities when they are put in place, so that they can be enjoyed by future generations.

The Rural Development Programme was introduced last year and is to give new life to rural communities. The Cheswick community, with over 900 residents, is the second of six communities identified for the programme.

The first beneficiary was the Chambers Pen community in Hanover, which is currently experiencing upgrades under the initiative.