'Get out of politics'

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

TRANSPORT MINISTER Mike Henry has greeted a boycott of the Manchester launch of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) with a suggestion that opposition parliamentarian Peter Bunting get out of politics.

Bunting, the member of parliament for Central Manchester, boycotted the launch yesterday, saying he was not consulted about the scale of work to be undertaken in his constituency. He also said he has been told that the opposition-led parish council was not part of the selection programme.

Mandeville Mayor Brenda Ramsay told The Gleaner a list of needy roads submitted by the council was ignored.

Yesterday, Henry declared: "Mr Bunting has said many things. Maybe he should go back to finance and leave politics."

Bunting claimed there was a bias in the selection of roads to be rehabilitated in the first year of the five-year programme.

He also charged that the selected roads are located overwhelmingly in North East Manchester, which is represented by Finance Minister Audley Shaw.

Sole jlp constituency

North East Manchester is the only constituency represented by the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the parish. The three others are represented by People's National Party (PNP) MPs.

"Tell him that it is because the previous government neglected the roads in most of the JLP constituencies and I have to improve on that overall. I relate to the works agency and their reports. It is a five-year programme. I deal with priorities first. The greater deterioration of roads, it so happens in many instances, are in areas represented by the JLP MPs," Henry said.

According to Henry, since 70 per cent of the country's roads are in need of rehabilitation, it is the NWA that does the selection of the roads to benefit under the programme. The minister told The Gleaner that the NWA consults with MPs and the parish councils in putting together the list of roads to be addressed.

"Since the previous government neglected to spend money across the road and do it effectively, there will be some areas that there will be an imbalance in the initial expenditure on roads," Henry said.

Meanwhile, in explaining the reason for his boycott yesterday, Bunting said he would "not risk my participation being interpreted as an endorsement of a programme seemingly designed to avoid all balance, fairness, transparency or value for taxpayers' money."

He added: "On the face of it, the implementation of this programme wreaks of vulgar partisan bias. It effectively bypasses the National Contracts Commission and the Office of the Contractor General. No local contractor without political connections to the Government has any fair chance to participate in this largest ever pork barrel programme."

Unevenly distributed

According to Bunting, of 11 roads selected for rehabilitation in Manchester, eight are in North East Manchester, which is represented by Audley Shaw. He also said nine of the 11 roads are in parish council divisions represented by the JLP.

Bunting, who called for an investigation into the operation of the programme, has questioned the JDIP budget allocation for each road to be rehabilitated in Manchester, as well as the basis for prioritising roads to be repaired or rehabilitated.

The Central Manchester MP said he also wants to know who the subcontractors for these works are and by what process they were selected or will be selected.

Shaw and the works minister have both committed to furnish Parliament with the list of roads, gullies, drains and bridges to benefit under the US$400 million infrastructual upgrade programme.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com