Terrelonge wants ‘Gulf’ and ‘Mexico’ transformed
Member of Parliament (MP) for St Catherine East Central, Alando Terrelonge, used his State of the Constituency Debate presentation to make a case for the upgrading of communities as a crimefighting tool.
Terrelonge, a second-term MP, called for the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) to assist with the development of housing in the communities of ‘Gulf’ and ‘Mexico’.
“The land is there. We need financial backing. Our residents deserve decent homes,” said Terrelonge.
“The NHT has the mandate, and, might I add, the resources, to take people out of impoverished living. There can be no excuse in 2021 for the level of underdevelopment that is the current reality in Gregory Park. I feel uncomfortable knowing my brothers and sisters in these communities are living in structures that scarcely qualify as housing: no running water or electricity. Basic amenities lacking. The young kings and queens growing up in these conditions deserve better. These kids deserve a chance at the same future that the children of all of us sitting here in Parliament have,” he added.
Terrelonge told fellow legislators that while the constituency is on the path to prosperous living, they are also “under threat from the disease of violent crime”. He said that the communities of Gulf and Mexico have presented challenges to law-enforcement agents.
“For all their efforts, the police are limited by the labyrinth of zinc and choppy getaway paths in some communities that offenders use to evade the law,” Terrelonge said, while adding that proper community planning and the provision of decent housing are some of the best tools in the fight against crime. The constituency of St Catherine East Central comprises areas such as Gregory Park, Newlands, Hamilton Gardens, Lime Tree Grove, Southborough and Caymanas Gardens. It falls in the St Catherine South Police Division, which has seen a 21 per cent increase in murders since the start of the year. Terrelonge said that he is hoping to secure funding from agencies such as the NHT and HAJ for a major zinc removal project in the tough areas of his constituency.