It is no secret that Portland has one of the worst set of thoroughfares in Jamaica. A lot of people attribute this to bad management over the years.
However, a resident of Islington, Portland, Herman Cousin has taken it upon to himself to improve the roads.
And, he keeps getting into trouble for doing this public good.
Mr Cousins said that he has been filling out potholes since 1994. Initially, when he started filling out the road he was inspired by the cries of the people in his community of
Islington and neighbouring communities such as Castle and Boston. He started with a friend and continued with the encouragement of motorists and other commuters who provided small financial rewards and incentives for his work.
His friend is now deceased, but he continues to do the work. Over the years, he has done other
jobs such as fishing and construction, but he has spent a significant part of his adult life filling out potholes in the East Portland constituency. According to Mr Cousins he has
worked from Long Bay to Passley Gardens in the parish.
One of the major challenges that Mr Cousins has faced is what he calls harassment from police attached
to the Portland Police Division.
On May 28, 2022, Mr Cousins was charged with extortion
and obstruction of traffic. However, when Mr Cousins appeared in the Portland Magistrate Court the judge
dismissed the case. He returned to court on July 28, 2022 to answer to a charge relating to the use
of indecent language in the same incident of confrontation with the police. That case was also thrown out last month after the officer again failed to show.
He has been to court several times over charges that he was while patching the roads, extorting road users.
Mr Cousins stated that over all these years while doing minor road repairs he has never received any
monetary assistance from political representatives in the constituency.
The support he receives is dependent on what he calls the discretion of motorists and other commuters who appreciate the work he is doing.
He says he has also received support from two business operators in the parish.
He is recommending that the official road repairs be done with concrete rather than marl and asphalt as his work shows concrete holds up better as a repair material.
By Kadeem Goulbourne
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Picture of Herman Cousins
