Crawford expects to win second term in Manchester Central

Member of Parliament for Manchester Central, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Rhoda Crawford, has made it clear that she will be contesting the seat on behalf of the governing party in next year’s General Election.

And she intends to win a second term based on her record of performance.

There had been speculation that Crawford could bow out of representational politics or be replaced after all four divisions in the constituency were won by the People’s National Party (PNP) in the Local Government Elections in February. The JLP even lost in its Knockpatrick stronghold.

However, speaking in the House of Representatives earlier this week as she made her contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate, Crawford reeled off a list of her accomplishments since she won the seat when she toppled the PNP’s Peter Bunting.

These range from road improvement to housing solutions and educational and medical grants for constituents.

Crawford shared that “nine families now have homes at no cost under the HOPE and INDIGENT Housing Programmes, with the 10th recipient soon to receive keys”.

“Also, preparations are underway to break ground in 2025 for the Mount Nelson and Albion developments, which will offer hundreds of affordable housing for low income earners,” she added.

The first-term MP said Mandeville now boasts Manchester's first Family Court, equipped with state-of-the-art technology. She pointed to a first-of-its-kind Victim Support Unit which provides counseling and critical services to children affected by domestic violence. Crawford noted that the newly-commissioned Justice Centre offers key Ministry of Justice services, including restorative justice, child diversion and mediation.

“Additionally, plans are underway for a Regional Complex in Mandeville to handle cases from Clarendon and St Elizabeth,” she said.

In the area of education, Crawford said $87.17 million was spent on a special education block (Campus 2), describing it as “a transformative development for students with special needs”. She said there are expansion plans to fully relocate the Albion Primary School. And she shared that plans are advanced to improve facilities at Bellefield High, Belair High, May Day High, Mt St Joseph High, Manchester High School and DeCarteret College.

The MP also shared that over the past four years, $170 million was invested under the ‘ROAD-A-Fix’ programme to improve the road network in the constituency.

Crawford told the House that she was proud to have delivered the following:

• $30 million in educational grants for tuition and books

• $5 million invested in various sporting programmes.

• Five free community Wi-Fi hotspots.

• 3,496 funeral and medical grants

 • 1,500 skills training and certification opportunities

• 610 building grants

• 522 farming grants

• 435 technological devices (laptops and tablets)

• 279 entrepreneurial grants

• 170 farm work opportunities

 • 301 water tanks

Said Crawford:“It is clear that these accomplishments, along with others unmentioned due to time constraints, reflect my unwavering commitment to addressing the needs of my constituents with originality, resourcefulness and determination. The journey continues, and much more will be delivered in the first year of my second term”.

She will be challenged in the general election by the PNP’s Donovan Mitchell, the Mayor of Mandeville.