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LETTER OF THE DAY - Hanover's neglect and promise
Published: Monday | August 2, 2010
THE EDITOR, Sir: I HAD the opportunity to attend a recent broadcast of the TVJ television programme 'Your Issues Live' and the Hanover Homecoming Foundation on July 27 in Lucea.
The people of Hanover once again echoed their concerns, which were reflected not only in this forum, but at an earlier symposium hosted by the Hanover Parish Council and the Ministry of Local Government on February 25.
The revelations added to what I had already discovered, and reinforced my thesis on the need for sustainable development plans for local authorities, and local-government reform. This should be the focus of any development plan for the parishes of Jamaica when one reviews work such as Vision 2030, published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
Raped by administration
Hanover is one of the smaller parishes and seems to suffer from neglect and apathy on the part of central government, with both members of parliament and the local authority unable to bring pressure to bear on the relevant authorities to effect meaningful change in the lives of the people. With the parish enjoying the best compliance rate in the payment of property tax, and having more hotel rooms than any other parish, there is a feeling that its citizens continue to feel raped by its new masters (central government) of its wealth and a failure to invest in its people by successive administrations. This parish has been the birthplace of many national leaders and possesses a number of fine institutions, yet it seemingly can't translate this into meaningful benefits for its citizens with the continual removal of resources from the parish.
The principal tourist areas of Negril (which has a larger share in Hanover) continue to be marketed, along with the hotels of Tryall and Round Hill, as being parts of St. James and Westmoreland, clearly showing a lack of identity and commitment in the parish.
Weak leadership
The many issues of Hanover are not endemic to this parish, but are a synopsis of the myriad problems facing Jamaica with the continued top-down administration of central government.
The issues are clearly caused by a lack of planning, dismantling of local representation and, in some cases, weak leadership. Any attempt at local-government reform must address these issues to offer the citizens the feeling of representation that they deserve.
With the proposed expansion of the Grand Palladium Hotel, Dolphin Cove and possibly a major National Housing Trust development, the leadership of the parish needs to study the impact these and future developments will have on the parish in the short, medium, and long term, and seek methods to deal with current and future demands on the resources of Hanover.
It's clearly the time for the parish to set a zoning, land-use policy, as part of a sustainable development plan to protect the environment of the parish and its citizens.
I am, etc.,
MARIO WOODE
solutions696@aol.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean.../letters1.html
Published: Monday | August 2, 2010
THE EDITOR, Sir: I HAD the opportunity to attend a recent broadcast of the TVJ television programme 'Your Issues Live' and the Hanover Homecoming Foundation on July 27 in Lucea.
The people of Hanover once again echoed their concerns, which were reflected not only in this forum, but at an earlier symposium hosted by the Hanover Parish Council and the Ministry of Local Government on February 25.
The revelations added to what I had already discovered, and reinforced my thesis on the need for sustainable development plans for local authorities, and local-government reform. This should be the focus of any development plan for the parishes of Jamaica when one reviews work such as Vision 2030, published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
Raped by administration
Hanover is one of the smaller parishes and seems to suffer from neglect and apathy on the part of central government, with both members of parliament and the local authority unable to bring pressure to bear on the relevant authorities to effect meaningful change in the lives of the people. With the parish enjoying the best compliance rate in the payment of property tax, and having more hotel rooms than any other parish, there is a feeling that its citizens continue to feel raped by its new masters (central government) of its wealth and a failure to invest in its people by successive administrations. This parish has been the birthplace of many national leaders and possesses a number of fine institutions, yet it seemingly can't translate this into meaningful benefits for its citizens with the continual removal of resources from the parish.
The principal tourist areas of Negril (which has a larger share in Hanover) continue to be marketed, along with the hotels of Tryall and Round Hill, as being parts of St. James and Westmoreland, clearly showing a lack of identity and commitment in the parish.
Weak leadership
The many issues of Hanover are not endemic to this parish, but are a synopsis of the myriad problems facing Jamaica with the continued top-down administration of central government.
The issues are clearly caused by a lack of planning, dismantling of local representation and, in some cases, weak leadership. Any attempt at local-government reform must address these issues to offer the citizens the feeling of representation that they deserve.
With the proposed expansion of the Grand Palladium Hotel, Dolphin Cove and possibly a major National Housing Trust development, the leadership of the parish needs to study the impact these and future developments will have on the parish in the short, medium, and long term, and seek methods to deal with current and future demands on the resources of Hanover.
It's clearly the time for the parish to set a zoning, land-use policy, as part of a sustainable development plan to protect the environment of the parish and its citizens.
I am, etc.,
MARIO WOODE
solutions696@aol.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean.../letters1.html
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