JEEP Provides Employment for 700 Persons in West Central St. James

Approximately 700 persons gained employment on various projects undertaken in West Central St. James, under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), at a cost of $35 million.

State Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Member of Parliament for the constituency, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, informed that the projects were done in the communities of Spring Gardens, Mount Salem and Granville, and involved the patching and repairing of roads, bushing, and the cleaning of drains.

Mrs. Ffolkes Abrahams made the disclosure as she addressed the House of Representatives during the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate, on June 25.

“Repairs were done on the Catherine Mount Road, Mt. Salem Main Road, and Barnett View Heights, Jarrett Terrace, Phoenix Ave, Catherine Drive, Rhynie Drive, Moy Hall, Tower Hill, Bayview Drive, Granville Drive, Gunns Drive and Gordon Crescent,” she noted.

She further added that U-drains were constructed at Crawford and Clarke Streets and a main drain was built on Granville Drive.

The Member of Parliament reported that repairs were done to the community centre and basic school at Gutters, where the roof was leaking.

“In addition, drain cleaning was carried out in Catherine Hall as part of disaster mitigation efforts. We also restored the badly damaged retaining walls on the Long Hill Road and on the Bogue Hill Road, contributing to road safety on the busy thoroughfares of St. James,” she said.

Mrs. Ffolkes Abrahams pointed out that the projects were undertaken in the constituency through JEEP Phases 1 and 2.

The JEEP was launched by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, on March 22 last year, in Kingston.

It is one of the strategies of the Government to respond to the chronic unemployment status of some Jamaicans, particularly those in the lower socio-economic strata, persons with special needs as well as those with low skills levels.

Contact: Andrea Braham