Seiveright Backs One Road Authority After NWA Misses St Andrew CDF Meeting

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Delano Seiveright, Member of Parliament for St Andrew North Central, has taken the National Works Agency (NWA) to task after its representatives did not show up for a Constituency Development Fund meeting on Thursday at St Richards Primary School, although the agency had been formally asked to attend.

The session attracted a large turnout from residents, with much of the discussion centred on bad roads, drainage problems and wider infrastructure issues affecting communities across the constituency. During the meeting, Seiveright also gave firm support to Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s proposal for a single One Road Authority.

“The prime minister is absolutely correct. Jamaica urgently needs a far more coordinated and modern road management system. The current fragmented structure is beyond outdated. Accountability is too scattered, coordination is too weak and residents are tired of the delays and bureaucracy,” Seiveright said.

He referred to recent Government comments which said the planned road authority is intended to bring better coordination, clearer accountability and stronger infrastructure planning to the national road network, while cutting overlap and wait times involving public agencies and utility companies.

According to Seiveright, residents complained about potholes, failing road surfaces, long waits for repairs and roadways being opened up and then left in poor shape for lengthy periods, especially after National Water Commission works.

“I have made repeated representations, conducted site visits, written letters and escalated numerous matters affecting roads across the constituency. Residents are frustrated and frankly I share their frustration,” he stated.

Seiveright said Jamaica’s road problems are wide-ranging, with more than 27,000 kilometres of roads across the island falling under different management systems, but he argued that response time and delivery remain serious weaknesses.

“At times it feels like absolute hell trying to get certain issues addressed despite repeated follow-up,” Seiveright added.

He said the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation has been making some effort in the constituency, but the limits facing local government are plain.

“KSAMC is trying in many respects, but the scale of the challenge clearly exceeds available resources, and that is another reason the One Road Authority framework makes enormous sense,” he said.

Seiveright said slow action from the responsible authorities has increasingly forced him to turn to private sector interests and community-minded partners for help with some road and infrastructure problems in the constituency.