Peter Bunting, the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for South Manchester, outlined his plans to improve road and school infrastructure while citing his vision to make Alligator Pond to Milk River a tourist attraction.

He stated that having visited the communities in the constituency, the residents have been lamenting that they have never met their member of parliament. “That is the kind of representation that they have suffered for on the last four-plus years,” Bunting said.

He also expressed his aim to work on the issues the residents have raised as soon as he takes the constituency in the upcoming general election. “The first thing is to deal with the infrastructure, the bad roads… But Grove Town Division, I can confidently say, has the worst roads. next to Aenon Town Division, in Jamaica, which has come from poor representation.”

Bunting went on to assert that the Internet represents yet another indication of infrastructure advancement. “Today, the internet is as important to people as electricity was in the 1970s.” All young people in particular deserve access to broadband internet, and we will be ensuring that every community in South Manchester has access to it,” Bunting added.

He emphasised that the schools in South Manchester are also in dire need of rehabilitation, a factor that had been exacerbated by Hurricane Beryl, which impacted several schools across Jamaica on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

“Our schools – many are run down. The only one that is being refurbished now is Prattville Primary, and that is because ‘Peter Bunting’ wouldn’t stop riding it in the Senate and media until shame [the Jamaica Labour Party] does something.

“And right now, although it has been refurbished, it can’t be handed over because the contractor, a little birdie tells me, hasn’t got him pay yet from the Ministry of Education, so our children are still in church halls taking classes, which is a disgrace – nearly 9 months, 10 months – and it was in bad shape before Hurricane Beryl came,” Bunting continued.

He states that the PNP will invest in the human resources of Jamaica. “I don’t want to hear that any time a young person with ambition wants to do something, they have to leave South Manchester to go somewhere else. The amount of persons I have met in Kingston, Mandeville, and May Pen say comrade Bunting, we are South Manchester people, but when we leave school, in order to get a good job or in order to set up a business, we have to leave.

“People will always leave where they come from, you know, but if they want to stay, they must be able to make a good living where they come from, and that is why we are going to ensure that we support entrepreneurs who want to do business. We support farmers; we ensure that there is access to land, access to grants… We are going to ensure that we get justice for this constituency,” he added.

Bunting further noted that he aims to ensure the road from Alligator Pond back to Milk River will be rehabilitated and become a centre for community tourism in Manchester.

“That is what I refer to as my vision project. Treasure Beach has shown us how community tourism can benefit the people that live in St Elizabeth, and we want to do the same for the people of South Manchester by developing that whole course road in an eco-friendly way, with small villas, Airbnb opportunities and eco-tourist attractions. Now we want that to be developed into a thriving source of economic growth for South Manchester… We will commission the study on it as a first priority when you elect me when time come,” he said.