Dr. Chang Tours Mobay’s Infrastructure Projects
April 10, 2009The Full Story
Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, toured sections of Montego Bay, visiting a number of infrastructure projects, on Wednesday(April 8).
He also used the opportunity to hand over a commitment letter for $6 million to the Western Society for the Upliftment of Children (WSUC), an educational and training project, to be funded by his Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation.
Projects visited and evaluated included: roads in Rosemount ; Cornwall Courts Housing Scheme sewage system; Glendevon Market site for a vocational training centre, to be established in collaboration with HEART Trust / NTA; a water system in Norwood; a road being built by the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) in Providence; roads in the Red Dirt area of Flanker, being built with the help of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF); and lands to be declared under the Housing Act in White House, St. James.
In an interview with JIS News, Dr. Chang said that there has been a significant improvement in the social behaviour of residents in several sections of Montego Bay, especially North West St. James, which could be attributed to the projects being implemented.
“Quite frankly we have seen significant improvement in this part of Montego Bay. The homicide rate is down by more than 50%, although St. James in general continues to have serious problems. North West St. James has reduced its crime rate significantly, although other areas have picked up,” he stated.
In a plea for more private sector support for social intervention and other programmes, he said that, with the implementation of improvements in infrastructure, there should also be improvements in social behaviour across the parish.
He announced that the training centre to be established on the former site of the Glendevon Market, should be in operation by the end of the financial year.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Housing, Mrs. Genefa Hibbert and senior staff members of the ministry were also in the touring party.