Councillors peeved at JPS’s lack of attention

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE PROBLEM of a lack of communication between the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) and administrators at the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), coupled with the inactivity of the light and power company within the parish, has again reared its ugly head as complaints mount about the JPS in that parish.

Several months ago when the problem first surfaced, a meeting was held between the two entities and a solution arrived at, part of which involved a commitment given by the JPS that a representative from that company would attend the monthly meetings of the HMC. It was also agreed that a social media group be established, with the seven councillors in the HMC and JPS personnel being part of that group.

The Gleaner was told then that the purpose of establishing the social media group was to have continuous communication between the JPS and the HMC, outside of scheduled meetings.

Neither system seems to be working, however, as no JPS representative has attended the HMC meeting for at least the last six months, neither was any explanation tendered. Meanwhile, councillors continue to complain that they are not receiving any response from JPS personnel concerning problems posted on the specially established social media page.

“I do not post anything in that (social media) group any more, because I realise that it’s a waste of time,” Mayor of Lucea and Chairman of the HMC, Sheridan Samuels, declared at the corporation’s March monthly meeting.

“Councillor Barnes has been posting, and I noticed that he is ignored. I saw Councillor Brown posting sometimes and nothing is happening, so we need to have another urgent meeting with the JPS,” Samuels stated.

Deputy Mayor Andria Dehaney-Grant also voiced her disappointment about the situation, arguing that something needs to happen soon.

LOSS OF ELECTRICITY

She made mention of a situation that occurred in the Green Island Division recently, where a tree fell on a power line, causing electricity to be lost in a community for days. She said that despite the reporting of the matter to the JPS, it had to take a demonstration by the residents of the area and the intervention of the police, before the JPS acted to remedy the situation.

Dehaney-Grant’s report was verified by a report from the police superintendent in charge of Hanover, Sharon Beeput, which was tabled at the meeting.

“There are many areas in the Sandy Bay Division, up to a week or so ago, that have lost power; and chances are they are still without power. Broken lines are on the ground in some communities that are out of power for days, and there are a lot of street lights across the parish that are not functioning,” Dehaney-Grant emphasised, with a view to highlighting the ineffectiveness of the light and power company in the parish.

The decision was arrived at to seek a meeting with JPS administrators to see how best Hanover can be better served by that agency.

Efforts by The Gleaner to contact JPS Operations Area Manager-West, Detommie Fuller, for a response to the claims of the councillors were unsuccessful.