St. Thomas Parish Council to Intensify Drain Cleaning Programme

The St. Thomas Parish Council will be intensifying a drain cleaning programme in the parish, in preparation for the up-coming Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30.
Some $2.5 million has been allocated by the Council for the programme, which is expected to continue over the next three months.
Mayor of Morant Bay, Councillor Hanif Brown told JIS News that funds for the project would come from the parochial fund collected in April, May and June.
“In recognition of the hurricane period and change of season, we will be diverting most of the fund to the drain cleaning activity,” Mayor Brown said, adding that the recent heavy rainfall had caused many of the drains to be blocked with silt.
However, Mayor Brown noted that the Council would require an additional $10 million, based on past estimates over the same period, “to effectively take care of the drains.” Despite the limited resources, he said the Council would be making every effort to complete the exercise.
The Council will be focusing on drains in Dalvey, Golden Grove, Duckenfield, Port Morant, Duhaney Pen, Trinityville, Yallahs, sections of Morant Bay, and other areas.
The Mayor said the Council would be holding discussions with representatives of the National Works Agency (NWA) to ensure that the agency embarks on a similar programme in the parish.
Meanwhile, Mayor Brown said the Council has been making every effort to repair roads in farming communities to ensure that they were accessible.
“There is an urgent need for a programme to address conditions of agricultural roads. The parochial roads which people are using to access their farms are not in the best of conditions but at the moment they are accessible,” he said.