MP begs for help

The presence of an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in many, if not most constituencies across Jamaica, is the norm. But until recently, the people in South West St Ann have never had one in their area.

That was until Keith Walford, the member of parliament, arrived on the scene and successfully lobbied to get one installed in the Alexandria area of the constituency.

Reporting on his stewardship to parliament, Walford told fellow legislators on Tuesday that "for the first time ever in South West St Ann, we now have an ATM machine".

"This was put into service earlier this year, and our constituents are now getting use to this new technology. At the rate of the current usage, I am sure that another machine will be needed soon," the MP said.

Walford, the Bass Odyssey sound system owner, is in his fourth year as MP. He won the seat over the JLP's Ernest Smith in the 2011 general election, beating him by 822 votes.

Unfamiliar

Beaming with pride that his advocacy for the ATM machine has paid dividends, Walford related a story to parliamentarians which underscored how unfamiliar some of his people are with the automated bank.

"I happened to be standing nearby when one of my constituents, who had only recently acquired a bank card, was having difficulty using this new technology. After showing the constituent what to do, he looked at me as if I had just done a miracle," Walford said.

"So backward we are when it comes to these technologies, South West St Ann is begging for help," he added.

Andre Hylton, member of parliament for Eastern St Andrew, said that constituents sometimes expect miracles but said it is often simple things like ATM machines that make lives better for people.

"We take it for granted in Kingston and St Andrew and St James, and so on, but in a constituency like his, an ATM means a lot to people," Hylton said, as he commended his fellow government backbencher.

Walford, who was contributing to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives, said that when he listens to his colleagues speak about their constituencies, he remains convinced that "South West St Ann is the most underdeveloped constituency in the island of Jamaica."

Political divisions

South West St Ann has four political divisions: Alexandria, Borobridge, Calderwood and Gibraltar. The seat touches the parishes of Manchester, Clarendon, Trelawny and St Catherine. It has communities such as Cascade, Douglas Castle, Clarksonville, Bohemia, Murray Mountain, Inverness and Aboukir.

"I inherited a constituency that has no basic infrastructure. Our roads have more pot holes than level surfaces, and despite fixing numerous amounts of these roads we still have a lot that have not been touched," the MP said.

Walford complained that a major injustice is being done to the constituency, arguing that despite supplying neighbouring areas with water it produces; only five per cent of South West St Ann has piped water.

He said only three communities in the entire constituency has water, and this has only happened since he became MP.

"Under this challenging drought, we have to be doing our best to contain our people because their cries are getting louder and louder ... I am fearing the day that I can no longer reassure these people because they are saying that in drought conditions they cannot see why our water is feeding our constituencies and we cannot get any," Walford said.