Bad roads backlash

ARGUING that Members of Parliament (MPs) and the central Government are taking undeserved flack for state of roads which are the responsibility of the municipal authorities, minister with responsibility for works Robert Morgan has urged Jamaicans to put the pressure where it rightfully belongs.

“That’s why I came up with the Jamaica Road Register…to empower citizens to know which road belongs to which entity. The Members of Parliament are more visible a lot of the times, they sit in Parliament, and people feel that they have better access to them, so they pressure the MPs… But Jamaica has 27,000 kilometres of roads and most of the roads are owned by parish councils [municipal corporations],” Morgan told the Jamaica Observer during a sit-down last Friday.

He pointed out that, while the central Government is responsible for only 5,000 kilometres of roads, it has fixed several roads that are outside of its remit.