By John Myers, Jr., Staff ReporterMAYOR OF Kingston Desmond McKenzie yesterday appealed to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to intervene and provide the resources to clean gullies in the Corporate Area.
Mayor McKenzie, who toured sections of the dilapidated Mother White Gully which runs across Spanish Town Road and Marcus Garvey Drive and into the Kingston Harbour, declared that more money was needed than the $3 million that was originally estimated to clean the drain located in Kingston's industrial belt.
"The tour that we did gave us greater insight of the problems than was first anticipated, so that the amount that we had estimated within our budget now becomes totally useless," Mayor McKenzie explained. In highlighting the severity of what he described as a potential disaster, he stressed that the condition of the Mother White Gully in particular was not only a threat to "the condition of the school (St. Andrew Tech-nical) and the (Horizon) Remand Centre, but also the oil refinery is in danger if the rains continue."
Mayor McKenzie pointed out that "significant repairs needed to be done to the gully, (and) the Ministry of Transport and Works must have a serious look at the section at the Spanish Town Road intersection to see the dangers that it poses.
"I don't know where else to turn and this will be my last attempt to try and get the funds (and) the people of the Corporate Area must join in the call for us to get some money to clean the gullies. We can't continue like this," he declared.
A NATIONAL DISGRACE
According to the Mayor, many of the gullies in the Corporate Area are choked with debris, overgrown with trees and shrubs and badly needed to be repaired. "This is a national disgrace, in this our 42nd year of Independence. We should never allow something like this to exist in our capital city..." he added.
The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) has said it needed at least $35 million to clean the gullies in the Corporate Area and has since requested the funds from Central Government. However, none has been provided to date. The Mayor said the Council has diverted a portion of funds assigned for repairing parochial roads, to clean the drains.
