WHETHER IT was Lilliput along the north coast or Hampton Road district, Camrose, Johns Hall or Spring Mount high in the hills of East Central St. James, the needs were the same for residents.

Job creation, roads and water were the top three, in that order.

The cry for the needed commodities became a refrain during The Gleaner's two tours of the constituency recently. A number of themes ran throughout the tours that each took almost six hours to cover a constituency that spans a diverse section of the parish, stretching from the sea coast to the mountainous, deep rural regions.

Groups of people, mainly young people under the age of 30, some drinking, smoking ganja spliffs or just hanging out, was a constant at every stop along the way. They want jobs, better roads and in some areas consistent supply of potable water in their homes or at standpipes. In some areas, the need was decent and consistent health benefits as they say health clinics were either under staffed or too far from their communities. Skills training centres, properly working street lights, telephones and cable access were also some of the problems mentioned.

Residents said that they now have enough schools, especially at the primary and all-age levels.

While areas such as Adelphi, Johns Hall, Spring Mount and Dumphries had good main roads, the residents said that more needed to be done for the secondary roads.

Residents in the more rural areas appeared to be more strident, almost militant in their demands while those on the sea coast appeared almost to be giving up as they don't expect any better to come after the general elections. Norbert Rowe and A. Bernard, both middle aged men who reside in the Camrose area, were almost angry when they explained to The Gleaner team that 'Top Road' leading into the interior of the Camrose district had not been fixed "for over 15 years now".

Mr. Rowe said that most of the times they had to travel to nearby Gutters to get water as their supply was intermittent at best.

Across the road from the elderly men was a group of younger men playing dominoes; C. Watkins said that employment opportunities and training for the youths of the area were the biggest concerns. After school he said, those who could not get work in Montego Bay had nothing else to do.

With the exception of a group of young men in the Sign-Orange area who said they were eagerly awaiting the elections to cast their votes, none of those who spoke to The Gleaner were excited or even interested in the upcoming election.

According to one 25-year-old in Chatham, who has not worked on a steady basis since leaving all-age school 10 years ago, he has no plans to vote for any of the candidates.

$10,000 - $20,000 FOR VOTE

A similar situation played itself out in Johns Hall where a young woman, sitting with a group of friends, said that she would vote, only if someone would offer her money. What's the going rate for her vote? "Anything between $10,000 and $20,000."

Some residents said that they hardly if ever saw any of the politicians seeking their votes. Anthony Brown, a farmer in the Johns Hall, bemoaned the fact that his produce were not selling as they could not compete with the "imported food stuff". The 32-year-old farmer said that the importation of foreign food drove down the prices of their produce at the markets.

Consistent supply of piped water was also a serious issue as residents said that the pipes were dry for spans of up to six months.

None of those to whom The Gleaner spoke knew of the NJA candidate Cornel Cameron. Some in the Lilliput/Barrett Town/Spot Valley area said that they hardly saw the PNP's Donald Colomathi while those in the Johns Hall/Spring Mount/ Spring Field areas did not know the JLP's Ed Bartlett, except for his photographs in the newspapers.

Many young people in these communities have not been able to secure jobs since leaving school; they admitted that they are not really trained for anything. A skills training centre in the area, according to them, would be a welcome break as this would offer them some hope of being able to gain meaningful employment.

Other than jobs and a skills training centre, telephone service was another major need for residents of Upper St. James, including Johns Hall, Spring Mount, Springfield, Hampton Road and Gutters.

The roads from Spot Valley to Chatham were the worst seen in the entire constituency; sections resembled riverbeds.