Linton P. Gordon
The condition in which the town of Ocho Rios remains continues to be of great concern to persons who have to pass through Ocho Rios, persons who live in Ocho Rios and to persons who work in Ocho Rios.The promise to effect what were minor repairs to the roads that were damaged by recent rains has turned into a major disaster, simply because the authorities, instead of patching the potholes in the road, dug them out as though they were about to repair them, then left them uncovered and without repairs thereby creating a string of death traps along nearly every roadway in Ocho Rios.The handling of the repairs to the road in Ocho Rios by the authorities is a clear example of how inefficient, unreliable and incompetent people entrusted with the responsibility to do a simple task like repairing a pothole along a roadway have become.The irresponsible and reckless handling of the matter is a clear basis for the responsible Minister and Permanent Secretary to fire those guilty and replace them with persons who can be relied on to give to members of the public the service that they deserve. The potholes which have been widened and deepened by the authorities have caused damage to several motor vehicles. Some have been repaired. They have also caused several minor motor vehicle accidents which occurred when motorists swerved from potholes and in the process collided with other motor vehicles.Were these persons who dug out the potholes and left them uncovered employed in the private sector they would have been fired. Why then should taxpayers continue to pay a bunch of incompetent and inefficient persons who have simply failed to do their job.
DUST TOO
However it is not only the potholes that are of concern in Ocho Rios. The roadway passing James Bond Pier, that is the Old Bauxite Pier, in Ocho Rios is constantly covered with limestone dust caused from the export of limestone from that area. The limestone is hauled to the location by open trucks and it is stored adjacent to the sea in the open. In the result, wind and rain spread residues of limestone on to the road and this creates a dust nuisance when it is sunny and dry, and make it slippery and muddy when it rains. In the distant past when bauxite was exported from the same pier, the bauxite was conveyed to the pier on a conveyor belt in an enclosed conveyor system. The bauxite was stored in enclosed silos and warehouse after which it was loaded onto the ship. There was no such nuisance from the export of bauxite as there is now from the export of limestone.
SANITARY FACILITIES
The authorities need to address this matter. Export of limestone is a very important economic activity. It earns foreign exchange and it creates employment for several persons. The solution, therefore, is not to bring about a cessation of the activity. The solution is to organise and conduct the activity in a safe and environmentally friendly way so that the danger, the nuisance and discomfort to motorists and pedestrians,along the roadway at the pier, is eliminated.Ocho Rios needs public bathroom facilities in the town. The only one now available is by the Transport Centre which is located on the Eastern side of Ocho Rios and very far from downtown Ocho Rios where the main shopping areas are. Persons needing to respond to the call of nature cannot realistically be asked to travel over half a mile to the Transport Centre to use a public lavatory. Years ago there was one beside the old Court House on Milford Road. The authorities failed to maintain it, as a consequence of which it deteriorated to a stage where it is not usable. Ocho Rios badly needs public lavatories strategically located throughout the town. The town also needs garbage receptacles along Main Street. Tourist and locals who purchase food and drinks and eat as they walk along the road have nowhere to dispose of the containers or the remains of what they were having. This is not good for any town or resort.Several buildings in the resort town have now become an “eye sore”. They are dilapidated, dirty and unpainted. The authorities should seek to meet with the owners of these buildings and see if they can convince them to effect repairs, painting and renovations in an effort to make the town more attractive.Finally, it is up to citizens, in particular the investors in Ocho Rios, to not only take pride in maintaining their premises in a presentable and attractive way, but they need to be brave enough to insist that the authorities perform their duties in accordance with the responsibilities that are given to them.
