By Cedric Johnson, Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE NATIONAL Works Agency (NWA) was taken to task at last Thursday's sitting of the Westmoreland Parish Council by angry councillors, who were quite vocal in their criticism of the manner in which the Government agency has been handling road repairs in the parish.
However, in defending the agency, Leslie Miller, the NWA's parish manager, blamed the problem on the absence of the required equipment to carry out some of the projects and on weak road surfaces in some areas. In addition, he noted that workers, who were trained and sent from Kingston, did some of the substandard jobs.
Some councillors were far from happy with Mr. Miller's attempts to allay their concerns, noting that there were instances where projects for which there were financial allocations which were as much as two years behind schedule.
"The matter of drain cleaning and construction at the low-lying McNeill's Land, for which a financial allocation was made, has been on the agenda for two years after the area was flooded and people had to use a boat to get across the area," said Councillor Earle Brooks of the Little London division. "What is the reason for the prolonged delay in starting the project? Are we going to wait until another disaster happens?"
FALLEN INTO DISREPAIR
Other councillors pointed to the situation with some roads in the Whitehouse, Toll Gate, Grange Hill, Red Ground, Moreland Hill, Mc Field, Barneyside and Logwood districts, which were recently fixed but have again fallen into disrepair and are once again riddled with large potholes and pools of water whenever it rains.
When the NWA's parish manager explained that his agency did not have the equipment to handle the job in McNeill's Land, deputy Mayor Councillor Bertel Moore moved a motion asking that a letter be sent to the Ministry of Works asking that the funds allotted for that project be turned over to the Parish Council: "We are in a position to carry out the work," he said.
With leaking pipes springing up all over the recently resurfaced Logwood road, some councillors are contending that the $4 million, which was spent to repair it, was basically wasted since the road will have to be dug up once again to facilitate repair work.
"The leaks were fixed before the roads were asphalted but have reappeared since," said Mr. Miller. "The pipes are old and pressure from heavy units travelling on the road can cause them to leak."
In a bid to ensure that the parish gets value for money from future projects, Mayor Delford Morgan said the council would insist on getting a copy of the contract whenever the NWA has jurisdiction over the repair of council's roads. Alternately, he said he is going to require a periodic report on the projects from the NWA.
