Brethren Town residents want helping hand

The deplorable condition of the only road that leads to the community of Brethren Town, near Old Harbour, St Catherine, has caused residents in the community to make a direct plea to politicians.

"We naah vote if the road nuh fix," the residents said, seemingly hoping that their plea would not fall on deaf ears.

Patrick Latchman, a resident in the community, said the driver of his company's staff bus refuses to enter to community because of the bad road.

"Sometimes after mi finish work the night shift, the company bus say dem naah come up yah because of the condition of the road. Right now we naah vote if the road nuh fix," Latchman said when a STAR news team visited the community on the weekend.

Brethren Town is perched on a hillside which is less than five minutes outside of Old Harbour. There are huge ruts in the road which seem to have been caused by water gushing down from the hillsides when it rains.

Fabian Miekle, a taxi operator who lives in the community, said cabbies often refuse to work in the area because of the excess cost that they accrue when they do.

"If yuh nuh burst a tyre, you lick out a rack end or something else damage on your car, so they just refuse to come," Miekle said.

"And it is the people in the community that it really hurt, cause if you go to the supermarket you have to wait on two special taxi to take you home, 'cause the others not coming," he lamented.

Miekle said: "The MP come several times and say that it soon fix, and all now."

Another resident, Elvaso Hayes, who said he has been living in the community since 1972, told THE WEEKEND STAR that road repairs are long overdue.

"O God, man, a full time now sah. We try throw some marl on it, but when the rain fall everything wash go down a di bottom. It's time now," Hayes said.

Efforts to reach Member of Parliament Everald Warmington proved futile.