Tourism and Agriculture main areas of focus for St. James Parish Council

Members of the St. James Parish Council have placed tourism and agriculture  at the top of their agenda in meetings, and at Committee deliberations.

This was stated by Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, held at the Montego Bay office of the agency, on June 13.

The Mayor explained that  those two areas  provide the largest employment in the parish, and the Council must ensure that they receive the necessary attention and policy direction.

“These two sectors are the main employment areas for the citizens, and we  want to make our  contribution to enhancing the lives of the residents of this parish. We will support the farmers by way of creating the environment that enables them to live and work,” he said.

“We will be  looking at the policy that will enhance and enable the farmers. They will have a direct window in the Council’s activities,”  Mr. Harris added.

On another matter, the  Mayor  told  JIS News that a new female ward will be built at the St. James Infirmary. He said the institution must be a place that can accommodate and give the best care to persons in their twilight years.

He also noted  that there is a plan to  retrofit a  vehicle that can deal with fires in the Cambridge and Maroon Town areas of St. James,  as a first response from a sub-station, as the unit in Montego Bay takes approximately 50 to 60 minutes to reach the areas.

On the matter of roads and other infrastructure in the parish, the Mayor said he is in dialogue with the National Works Agency (NWA), the National Water Commission (NWC) and the respective Ministers to ensure that, where possible, projects can be fast tracked.

In the meantime, Mr. Harris said the Council will continue to upgrade infrastructure from its own budget.

By Garfield L. Angus, JIS Reporter