Put politics aside and work in interest of parish say MPs

Hanover Correspondent

WESTERN BUREAU

Comments made by Mayor of Lucea Sheridan Samuels, recently, have drawn the ire of members of parliament (MPs) for the parish of Hanover, Dave Brown (eastern), and Tamika Davis (western).

The representatives have charged the mayor to cut the political rhetoric and work in the interest of the people of the parish.

Addressing a meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), Samuels said he would be moving to name the many potholes on the main roads across the parish, in honour of the two MPs, as it is their responsibility to see that the main roads are kept in good condition and are pothole free. He disclosed that monies have been allocated to them to carry out the task.

Davis described the mayor’s remarks as ‘unfair, unreasonable and untrue’, suggesting that Samuels check his facts before pronouncements given his position of responsibility.

“All I ask of him is that he checks the accuracy of the information that he is putting out, before he blurts out emotional and political statements,” she stated.

Brown argued that the worst roads within the parish of Hanover are those which are the responsibility of the municipal corporation, ‘which are too many to name in honour of the mayor’.“So it’s is a very unfair statement for the mayor to make, because majority of the bad roads across the parish are municipal corporation roads,” he emphasised.

He too suggested that the mayor review his information.

“He needs to know that the Hopewell main road (contract) has been awarded for an overlay, from above the clinic gate through Hopewell Square on to just outside the new police station,” he stated, adding that the contractor is slated to start the work anytime now.

“It should take about some two days to do that entire stretch, and some more work is in the pipeline,” Brown stated.

Brown said the mayor should instead put politics aside and collaborate with the MPs in the progress of the parish.

“Anything that comes to Hanover does not come easily. We (as political representatives) have to fight for it,” Brown stated, adding that the blame game does not help in any way.

He insisted that over the years he has done repair work on several municipal corporation roads, without any acknowledgement from the corporation.

Davis emphasised that the statement made by Samuels is without merit, as a patching programme has just come to a close in Western Hanover, and (those) potholes left to be tended to have underlying burst pipelines below them.

“The National Water Commission has been mandated to make the necessary corrections, as it would be foolhardy to repair those holes and then the water does further damage,” she stated.

She stressed that all monetary allocations are made to the NWA and not the MPs.