Petersfield residents bemoan lack of representation

Residents of Petersfield, the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) division once held by George Wright, who left that position to successfully campaign to become a member of parliament, say that since his departure they have not been getting any proper representation.

According to them, Savanna-la-Mar Mayor Bertel Moore, the councillor for the Negril Division, was supposed to be filling the void created by Wright’s departure, but has not been able to meet that responsibility in any substantive way.

Wright won the Petersfield Division in the 2016 local government election, but in the 2020 general election, he contested and won the Westmoreland Central constituency, earning a seat in the nation’s Parliament.

“I am not satisfied that the mayor, who has direct responsibility for the vacant division, is doing a good job,” said Junior Clarke, the Jamaica Labour Party councillor caretaker for the Petersfield Division, who, like Wright, is looking to win the seat on that party’s ticket.

Clarke believes that despite being a part of the People’s National Party majority in the WMC, which is the opposite of what most of the voters of the division voted for in 2016, he was expecting more from Moore.

“The mayor is not doing his job by ensuring that we are represented in the division,” said Clarke. “I am not saying work has not been done, but it is not at a level wherein people can be satisfied.”

Clarke, dean of discipline at Petersfield High School, wants Moore and all other mayors across the island to take their responsibilities seriously and give adequate service to the people.

“What I would like is for these mayors to be held accountable for the areas in ensuring that they get the same level of representation as the areas that have sitting councillors, which is what I am advocating for,” said Clarke.

UNCOMFORTABLE

Patrick Forrester, the People’s National Party’s councillor caretaker for this division, also expressed his discomfort with not having an elected councillor representing the division, which is facing several challenges, including a water problem.

“I am very much uncomfortable that proper representation is not being done in the division; we have issues of roads and other infrastructure needs,” said Forrester. “If you drive in the division, you will see that most of the roads are in a deplorable condition, and that has been since the Jamaica Labour Party had a councillor here in 2016.”

Unlike Clarke, Forrester laid no blame at the feet of Moore, saying that, with his many responsibilities, Moore could well be overwhelmed.

“He has made steps in making representation on some of the issues, but I am still saying that if we had a councillor independently, it would have been better,” said Forrester. “We know he is a councillor for somewhere else, and he has other responsibilities as mayor.”

Mark Farquharson, a farmer from Williamsfield in the division, says residents are struggling to get their farm produce to market because of the deplorable conditions of the roads “to and from our farms”.

“Those of us who farm in the most rural part of the division, such as Porter’s Mountain, Williamsfield, Roaring River and Content, are getting a beating reaching the market with our goods in order to earn a living,” said Farquharson.

With the local government elections, which should have been held in February 2020 but were first deferred to February 2022, then again to February 2023, and another postponement more recently, it means the residents of Petersfield will continue to face their challenges without representation for some time.