Complex as the needs in Highgate are, they can and will be solved with your help.
UFOH – Jamaica nonprofit organization | June 23, 2017 | Lorrimer Burford
Highgate Needs Today
An analysis of Highgate today shows that homicide, lack of economic growth and corruption, which is reportedly rampant in Jamaica today, has also affected Highgate. Therefore, the needs of Highgate is a reflection of the needs of our island (and vice versa) which requires help from non-government organizations (NGOs) such as economic development nonprofit organizations, Jamaican charities and Jamaican nonprofit organizations such as the United Friends of Highgate.
Economic Decline
While the World Bank reported that Jamaica’s real per capita GDP increased at an average of just one percent per year, the St. Mary Strategic Development Plan, stated that the economy of St. Mary has declined due mainly to the collapse or decline of its agricultural mainstays: coconut, sugar and the banana industries. This has a very huge negative impact considering that St. Mary’s economy is largely agricultural with some 7.3% of its total area under some form of agriculture.
Unemployment, poor social services, deteriorating roads and poor communication services have led to the massive decline of the parish’s economy. Thus in 2002 the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) named St. Mary the poorest parish in the Island. (As a footnote, in 2005 the mighty tourist parish of St. Ann was reported to be the poorest parish, which did not go down very well with its residents).
St. Mary, and by extension Highgate, is said to have low levels of economic activity and sees very little investment by way of large hotels or large manufacturing entities. Research shows that the elastic nature of the soil in St. Mary makes road maintenance difficult. The type of soil which is mainly Richmond Shale and Belfield Clay lends itself to slippage and has contributed to the collapse of sections of roads throughout the parish.
According to the St. Mary Strategic Development Plan, the Junction road is the major route connecting the parish to the capital city Kingston. Large commercial vehicles such as tractor trailers cannot comfortably maneuver on this road. Therefore tractor trailers have to drive through Chalky Hill into Ocho Rios to get to the parish. This leads to higher transportation costs for businesses and therefore higher prices for goods and services.
The Needs in Highgate, Jamaica
Adequate Electrical Power
The electrical power situation in Highgate, similar to many rural areas of Jamaica, is in a state of unpredictability. No one knows when electricity will go off; when the town will be dark.
Adequate Water Supply
There are plans for the development and extension of the current water system. It stated that of particular significance is the improvement of the supply from Annotto Bay into the Highgate and Whitehall areas of the parish.
Infrastructure
According to the St. Mary Development Plan, an issue of note is poor Infrastructural services. The parish has long been known as the “pot hole” parish. It is believed that completion of the North Coast Highway Improvement Project would help intrastromal development but to date this has not been so.