Western Bureau:
When former member of parliament (MP) A.U. Belinfanti announced plans to develop a major water supply project at the Quashi River in Freeman’s Hall, Trelawny, in the 1970s, no one could have envisioned that, more than 50 years later, the project would still be on the drawing board.
Since Belinfanti’s departure from the political stage, four other MPs have served the constituency and, while communities such as Freeman’s Hall, Ulster Spring and Albert Town continue to face challenges with their water supply, none of them have managed to move the project forward.
In a major announcement in 2017, Dr Horace Chang, the then minister of water, told residents during a meeting in the constituency that J$92 million was identified to kick-start the Quashi Project. However, that never came to fruition.
Last Friday, Matthew Samuda, the current minister of water, again told residents during the ground-breaking ceremony for a water project in Jackson Town, Trelawny, that the Quashi River project is again on the Government’s radar.
“The Quashi River System has had challenges, which we will work to get rid of. An announcement on the system will come from the prime minister,” said Samuda.
MUCH SCEPTICISM
However, after so many years, and so many promises, the residents in the affected area are not excited by Samuda’s announcement and are treating it with much scepticism.
“I have heard all the MPs talk about the project, but nothing has happened, and the river is still there, it has never run dry,” said John Clarke, a resident of Freeman’s Hall. “What is needed is some MP to come along and give full attention to the project. What we need here in Freeman’s Hall is water, and road. We are farmers in the main and we need roads and water.”
Mary Grant, a housewife from Freeman’s Hall, believes it is an insult to have the Quashi River in their backyard and not have piped water in their homes.
“You will notice that almost all the homes have a water tank. When there is no rain, we must either buy water or carry water from the river on our heads,” said Grant. “On some days, you can find women along the river doing their washing. We would love to have piped water but, after years of promise, I don’t hold much hope with the latest promise.”
In an ambitious attempt at self-help, in 2018, the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency, which is led by environmentalist Hugh Dixon, embarked on a water harvesting project, which was designed to ease some of the water woes in Albert Town.
“We tried to do our part and build two 20-gallon tanks at Freeman’s Hall and Albert Town primary schools,” said Dixon. “That was the best we could do, and I know the schools were quite thankful that we were able to do that for them.”
