By George Henry, Gleaner WriterSPALDINGS, Clarendon:
ROBERT PICKERSGILL, Minister of Transport and Works and Chairman of the People's National Party (PNP), said on the weekend that deplorable road conditions can be a deterrent to investment.
Addressing a PNP divisional conference at the Ritches Primary School in North West Clarendon, Mr. Pickersgill said, "The road to development is the development of roads."
He noted, however, that for the roads to be built and properly maintained, "There has to be a source of funding made available to do so effectively." Mr. Pickersgill also stressed maintenance, saying that "if the roads are not maintained they will deteriorate rapidly."
And in using Highway 2000 "as an example as to how the construction of roads can open avenues to development", the Mi-nister said that infrastructure "has already opened lands that many were not familiar with."
"Once persons are able to move from point to point quickly on even surfaces, investments such as Highway 2000 will facilitate production," he said.
HOTEL ROOM BOOM
Mr. Pickersgill noted that the construction of hotel rooms that is slated to take place "soon" along the north coast comes because of the construction of the North Coast Highway which, he said, will allow people to move more faster than ever before.
The Transport and Works Minister added that there is more benefit to be gained when the North Coast Highway and Highway 2000 are completed. He stated that persons already have started to cease flying in small aeroplanes from Negril and Montego Bay to Kingston and are instead travelling by road, noting that "it is much shorter and quicker."
"One of the main differences between a developed country and a under-developed one is the network of roads," he said.
Mr. Pickersgill pointed out that the 'Road Fund', which was established by the Government recently at the Ministry of Transport and Works, gets some of its funding from a third of the motor vehicle licences.
"That's the fund that is patching your roads now," he continued. "It is coming basically from the motor vehicle licences and we have been patching in all the parishes over Jamaica, and doing serious work in the corporate area."
Mr. Pickersgill told the gathering that he was aware that all roads, especially farm roads, were important and that efforts were being made to have them repaired. He, however, noted that main roads also needed to be attended to, adding that efforts are being made to have all potholes repaired across the island.
