'Portia's popularity will not help Rowe'

[Karl]

'Portia's popularity will not help Rowe'

Published: Sunday | March 22, 2009



Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Portia Simpson Miller (right) leads People's National Party candidate Kenneth Rowe through the streets of the West Portland constituency on nomination day, March 6. In the background is Abe Dabdoub who contested and lost the seat against the Jamaica Labour Party's Daryl Vaz in the September 2007 general election.


Daraine Luton and Gareth Davis Sr, Gleaner Reporters

POPULAR People's National Party (PNP) President Portia Simpson Miller has walked almost every inch of West Portland in a bid to help Kenneth Rowe win tomorrow's by-election against the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Daryl Vaz.
But Vaz is not scared of the 'Portia factor'. He says he is prepared to take bets that he will be beating Rowe, Simpson Miller and the entire PNP with an increased majority.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead3.html

[Karl]

Politriks!

Portia's popularity can only help!

Let's see if the JLP's slip in the polls can be surmounted by Sass' claim of Vaz good works in the constitutency?

I would be surprised if it was not a close election....less than 1000 votes separating the candidats.

[Willi]

Like last time? It was 944 votes and not considered close. Less that 500 votes would be considered close.

[Assasin]

It was always going to be close. West Portland has always been close.
If you want to see some a the best politics on display go to the WINDSOR CASTLE ALL AGE SCHOOL on monday where labourite and socialists all in their party colours will be dancing singing and shouting all day and will also be celebrating the victory come monday night.

Regardless who win the constituency has been well represented in the past and the people have seen some good work from Vaz recently(not only my claim, read all the newspaper reports) so if Rowe win he has to step up, NO BS.

The people of West Portland don't want politics, they want representation.

[Exile]

Money will win the election. Punto final!
Cut the bs about good work etc. the thing is ALL MPs should work..but these days when one does it's like wow! It's all about the $$$. The party that spends the most WILL win. Reports from 'ground zero' tells me that the JLP has the cash, PNP doesn't. Popularity contest this is not! I pick the JLP to win.

[Assasin]

Exile based on what I know I don't think the money is such an issue. You talking about people who don't have water for 25 years. People who had better infrastructure in the 1970s than they have today.

Ennis representation his last 4 years in power was woeful and that made it possible for Vaz, since he has been there he has delivered a things like water in some areas and has been very active in every committee in Portland and has been there almost every week. None of the newpaper analyst can deny that Vaz has worked.

"the thing is ALL MPs should work..but these days when one does it's like wow!"

Well tell that to many of the MPs and constituence in Jamaica.

I don't know Rowe but I also hope he is a good candidate.

[Exile]

Shedding some light on the challenges in North Central Clarendon
'We are living just a little bit above civilisation'
BY TYRONE S REID Sunday Observer staff reporter reidt@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, March 22, 2009
IT'S been seven long years since work was completed on Christina Christian's dream house in Danks-Savoy, a small farming district just outside Chapelton in North Central Clarendon.
The house, a two-bedroom dwelling, sits on a property blessed with an abundance of fruit trees and endless warm sunlight. But there is one problem preventing Christian from moving in. There is no electricity supply in her neck of the woods.
These young children assist their mom with the laundry by the riverside in Pennants, Clarendon last week.
"This is such a nice community; a nice residential area and we do not have access to electricity over here. So, can you imagine? My house finish from 2002 and I can't live in it because of no light. We complain to everybody, and nobody do anything to help us. We tired of this," Christian said, her hands akimbo.
Christian and her neighbours say they have "set up meetings" and written several letters to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) and the Clarendon Parish Council trying to get the community on the power grid. They are still in the dark.
Christian told the Sunday Observer that she is frustrated that her pleas for assistance are falling on deaf ears, even as her house in Danks-Savoy remains unoccupied. The yard, she said, is overrun with weeds and shrubbery. At present, Christian, who travels to the US regularly to purchase merchandise, has to be shacking up with her husband's relatives a great distance away.
In North Central Clarendon - one of the largest constituencies in Middlesex comprising some two dozen communities and small districts - the complaints are many, ranging from the socio-economic to the geo-political. Farming is the primary source of livelihood for residents, while enterprising youngsters own small cook-shops, operate taxis or find other creative means of earning a living.
Labourer 'Ras Scorpion' poses beside a heap of harvested oranges, which grow in abundance in North Central Clarendon. (Photo: Gregory Bennett)
All over the constituency - divided into three main polling divisions (Chapelton, Mocho and Rock River) - residents echoed Christian's concerns. The dusty and rocky roadways and the regular sightings of persons seated on large boulders washing in a riverbed were commonplace. Many say they are praying for a ray of hope.
"The pipes up here rotten for years, so we have to be buying water by the drum for $350 or more. We can't afford it, and one drum of water can't serve we fi a week," said Carol Brown, a shopkeeper from Main Ridge, a hilly district close to Crawle.
Added her colleague, Karen Johnson: "Some of us have inside bathroom and we can't use it because of a lack of running water. We are living just a little bit above civilisation," she said, laughing heartily.
"Most times the basic school in the district have to close half day because there is no water for the children, and the dust problem is terrible. We need Mr Pearnel Charles to do a better job as [Member of Parliament]. Him got to step up or step down. We tired of this."
Christina Christian's house in Danks-Savoy, Clarendon which has been unoccupied since 2002 due to lack of electricity. (Photos: Gregory Bennett)
From Main Ridge to Pennants, Turners, Rock River and surrounding communities, the cries were similar. There were sad tales of daily struggles and hardships, in a constituency that is home to nearly 10,000 residents, most from low-income families living without electricity and running water.
"We have very poor representation in North Central Clarendon. Look at the condition of the [Pennants] bridge. That is probably the only bridge in Jamaica that have pothole. The bad roads up here are very dangerous," said taxi driver Rupert Crawford, leaning comfortably against his vehicle at Pennants Square.
Meanwhile, farmers in Prospect are battling a serious drought, which is affecting their harvest. The "rocky" roads, they noted, make it hard for them to transport their crops to vending areas.
"We want better roads, sah. We want some tractor for the farming up here to get better. It rough. If the MP coulda do something for we, it woulda good. Them nuh haffi rush, them can take them time, but we need the help," one farmer suggested, sitting astride his donkey.
Over in Summerfield, boutique owner Tracey-Ann Morgan said the "lack of opportunities" in North Clarendon has all but crippled business in the area. According to Morgan, who operates the establishment with her husband, Summerfield and neighbouring communities could experience economic prosperity if development plans were put into effect.
"Trust me, we need more businesses in this section of Clarendon because that would create jobs for the young people. We have nuff illiterate kids in this part of the area. They need somewhere for them to go to learn skills or something to help them better themselves," Morgan said.
Seated on the steps outside his cattle feed store in Chapelton, Wayne Seaton had his left hand pressed against his cheek. He looked worried. Like business owners in the other 11 farming communities we visited, Seaton is concerned about the future of his business. He's more concerned though that Chapelton, once the thriving and well-populated capital of Clarendon, could lose appeal for prospective investors.
"Massa, up yah gone. Nothing nah gwaan. Prices ah go up, and people ah lose them job. Nothing can go suh? We get promises inna election time that people going to get jobs. We don't see that happening," Seaton pointed out, echoing the sentiment that poor representation is hampering progress in Chapelton. "Them start work on the road and them do part and then leave it. If you ah do something, just do it and finish. The place can't run like that. We feel like we stuck; we not moving forward," Seaton said.
Speaking of moving forward, back in Danks-Savoy Christian said she plans to write more letters and request more meetings until her community finally gets the power supply it desperately needs, which in turn would allow her to finally move into her house after seven years.
"We can't afford to run private lines because that is going to cost us millions of dollars, and we don't have it. We are poor people. We have worked very hard to buy the land to build our houses and we pay our taxes. The least they can do for us is help us get access to electricity," Christian said, the frustration audible in her voice.

[Assasin]

that a wa mi a talk bout.

Take Hart Hill for example, many big house and no water for years. One of Vaz project was a water project for that area so no money ina hand is as valuable as warter in Hart Hill. That is just an example.

I understand the plight of these people in North Central Clarendon.

[Gamma]

me too!!!