Describing the road infrastructure in his constituency as “very bad”, Duane Smith, the newly elected member of parliament (MP) for St Andrew North Western, declared that improving the roads will be his foremost concern.
“The priority for North West St Andrew has to be the road infrastructure. We have some very bad roads in the constituency, and I am going to be aggressive in representation in fixing those roads,” he said.
Smith amassed 1,863 votes to independent candidate’s Carl Marshall, who received 111 votes in yesterday’s by-election. The People’s National Party did not contest the election.
“I am satisfied with the victory, I am satisfied with getting 95 per cent of the votes. The turnout was low but as mentioned several times, it was expected to be low because people in North West St Andrew don’t take by-elections that are being uncontested by any main opposition party seriously,” Smith told The Gleaner.
Although voter turnout in the constituency remained consistently low throughout the day, finishing at just 6.2 per cent, there were still individuals who made sure to participate in the democratic process.
For Ronald Wedemier, casting his vote in this by-election was significant.
“It is my democratic right and my civic duty. I always vote whenever I am here,” the 78-year-old said.
Andrea Sherwood and her 77-year-old husband cast their vote at the Meadowbrook Preparatory School.
In addition to the conditions of the roads which the elderly couple said is the worst they have seen in their 45 years of living in the constituency, they are also hoping that something will be done to address the number of mentally ill people roaming the streets.
Smith pointed to the Government’s $40-billion Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Road Network Improvement (SPARK) Programme as the key initiative for addressing the road issues.
REHABILITATION PROJECT
The SPARK Programme aims to rehabilitate more than 2,000 roads across Jamaica, and is expected to be completed within two years. Work under the project is expected to start by the end of the year.
“Only a programme of that magnitude can fix the problems in North West St Andrew,” he said.
Meanwhile, Derrick Smith, former MP for St Andrew North Western, described it as an “emotional moment” when he cast his vote yesterday for his youngest son, Duane.
The senior Smith, who held the seat for almost three decades, shared with The Gleaner that Duane was born the year he entered representational politics.
“It’s sort of a legacy, although we generally had hoped that he would come after me, but that didn’t happen,” he said.
Duane’s candidacy comes after Dr Nigel Clarke resigned as finance minister and MP for the constituency to take up the post of deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund in October.
Senior Smith encouraged his son to make people the focal point of his representation.
“My advice to Duane this morning is service, service, representation. Never, ever lose focus of why the people voted for you. Whether it’s 10 per cent or 90 per cent, the fact is that you were elected to represent North West St Andrew, and you’re expected to do that to the best of your ability, not just for the people in green shirt, but for the entire constituency,” the proud father advised.
