St Peter: Jordan cites progress amid water, waste woes

With election campaigning now in full swing, St Peter MP Colin Jordan says he is entering the race confident, prepared and energised, pointing to what he calls tangible achievements across the constituency and nationally as the basis for seeking re-election.

Speaking at the Coleridge and Parry School’s annual speech day, Jordan, representing the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), anchored his message in what he described as visible improvements to infrastructure across the constituency, acknowledging progress while conceding that more remains to be done.

“We will be campaigning based on the many achievements that we’ve had in the constituency, achievements related to infrastructure, hard infrastructure, many roads – Station Hill, Clarke’s Gap, Chapel Street, Garden Alley, Black Bess, Skeetes Road –  a number of roads done,” he said. “Still some work to be done, but a number of roads done.”

He also highlighted environmental upgrades and progress on land issues.

“We’ve had a number of really fantastic clean and green. We’ve had significant progress with respect to land in Maynards… as well as the long-standing issue of land tenure,” he said.

Pointing to utility upgrades, Jordan said new water pipes had been laid in parts of the constituency.

“We’ve had new pipes laid in the Boscobel area… and we believe that our track record and my track record is sufficient to allow residents to recognise significant progress.”

Tourism-linked economic activity also featured prominently in his remarks, with Jordan citing developments tied to the refurbished jetty and new construction projects.

“The jetty has been refurbished, reopened. We have now, for the second full season, been taking visitors… and we’ve seen significant economic activity with the start of the construction at Penry,” he said. “We know that the land has been cleared at Heywoods, and Sandals should soon be doing some work there.”

Beyond constituency projects, Jordan connected his ministerial work to its everyday impact on St Peter residents.

“Paternity leave impacts fathers in St Peter. Extended maternity leave impacts mothers in St Peter. The establishment of the minimum wage affects people in St Peter,” he said. “All that we’ve done… will provide the basis upon which the people of St Peter will re-elect me.”

He told voters he is seeking to continue what he described as a long-standing partnership.

“I show them my track record, and I expect that they will continue the partnership that they’ve established with me over the last 7.5 years.”

However, concerns raised by residents during the interaction underscored persistent challenges, particularly with water supply and garbage collection.

There have been “issues from water, sometimes no water at all” and “the most recent issue of garbage vehicles”, pressing Jordan on what reassurance he could offer constituents.

In response, he acknowledged problems with water quality in specific areas.

“We’ve had discoloured water primarily in two areas, in the Boscobel area and in this part of the Six Men’s area,” he said.

He outlined ongoing pipe replacement works in northern St Lucy and St Peter, explaining that these upgrades are key to addressing the issue.

“That entire pipe system is necessary to make sure that the discolouration does not come from pipes,” he said.

Jordan also pointed to broader water infrastructure challenges, including pressure on wells and reservoirs.

“We have challenges with the Allendale well… and the work ongoing at the Hope in St Lucy is intended to ensure that we have good quality water coming into the system,” he said. “We expect that in the not-too-distant future that there will be relief where the water is concerned.”

On garbage collection, he acknowledged delays affecting parts of the constituency.

“There are times when there may not be collection for a couple of weeks, and that is a result of the demand… but also of the availability,” he said.

He explained that access issues in smaller communities have complicated collection efforts.

“There’s an area in Mount Brevitor where it needs a small truck, and then there is in the Six Mens area a similar challenge,” he said. “Work to resolve that issue is ongoing, and I believe a solution is imminent.”

St Peter has been held by the Barbados Labour Party since 1976 and by the late Owen Arthur. The fifth prime minister of Barbados represented the constituency for the longest period.