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PM Pledges Family Land to Education

October 17, 2003

The Full Story

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has announced his intention to donate family property, which he owns in his home community of Dias in Hanover for the construction of an education institution for residents of the area. The Prime Minister has also invited the newly created Hanover Homecoming Foundation to work with him to develop the plans for the educational facility.
Mr. Patterson made the announcement while delivering the keynote address at the foundation’s launch in Lucea on Thursday (October 16). Prime Minister Patterson noted that this was one of two projects he intended to make a reality in his home parish not as Prime Minister, but as a son of the parish. The other is the construction of a library for the Santoy Basic School. He pointed out that he has been working along with the new owners of his family’s property at Santoy to expand the Basic School and said the library will be a further contribution.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister gave an update on the construction of four new schools in Hanover under the Western Jamaica Schools project that will see 17 new schools being built in the western parishes over the next three years. They include a high school for Sandy Bay and Hopewell, the site for which is now being cleared for surveying, and Central Hanover High in the Askenish area, for which negations for the purchase of the land is underway.
Mr. Patterson said preliminary work in ongoing for the construction of two new basic schools for Hopewell and Lucea. “We cannot emphasise too much the importance of basic school education. The Government is seeking to lower the age of universal access to basic school education and ensure that it is of the requisite quality,” the Prime Minister said.
He also outlined progress on the development of a new cruise ship pier for the Lucea harbour, which is being developed by the Port Authority of Jamaica. Prime Minister Patterson said the agency has now being given approval to proceed to the design stage and that both Members of Parliament for Hanover as well as the Hanover Parish Council are being kept informed about the development.

Last Updated: October 17, 2003

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