by Donella Hosten
In addition to announcing Senator Pamela Moses as the candidate for St Patrick East for the upcoming election, Prime Minister Dr the Rt Hon. Keith Mitchell revealed that the parish of St Patrick will soon be having more economic activity.
According to the PM, they have been given the ‘green light’ for the 2nd phase of the Breakwater Project. This phase, he assured, will create even more economic spin-offs and benefits for the people of St Patrick.
Phase 1 saw the building of a 1,900-foot stone structure in the water, which ran from under Leaper’s Hill to the old Sauteurs jetty. However, Phase 2 will be the construction of a marina, and it is hoped that this development will protect the parish’s coastline, as well soon be a location for certain boats to anchor.
Despite the PM’s recent announcement boasting about rural economic benefits, NDC’s Claudette Joseph is still disappointed with the state of the country’s rural economy. She used the opportunity on Monday, 6 November, during her party’s press conference, to call on the leading administration to ‘act more responsibly,’ and ‘with more empathy’ as it relates to economic developments in the rural areas.
Joseph placed her focus more on the big parish of St Andrew, which, according to her, was once referred to as the ‘breadbasket of the nation.’ She mentioned most of the public buildings in the town which are in tatters. ‘Grenville is a place that makes you really want to cry,’ as the collapse of the rural economy is ‘evident and very apparent,’ and she believes this is so throughout the rural economy.
Joseph attributed the collapse of the rural economy to the neglect of the areas such as agriculture, fishing and small cottage industries. She affirmed that the NDC will focus on these areas in order to create jobs and empower people. The party also pledges to put systems in place to create a flourishing environment for both local and foreign investors.
Mention was also made of the number of businesses closing down in St Andrew, including Bain and Sons Ltd. “We are very saddened to see that business also go under,” she said.
