Shaw, Williams take aim at JLP, pledge roads revamp, water, agriculture
Published:Tuesday | July 29, 2025 | 12:07 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
In a sharp critique of sitting St Thomas Eastern Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Michelle Charles, potential challenger Yvonne Shaw on Saturday declared that the constituency needs real leadership to tackle issues affecting residents – not social media theatrics.
“They don’t want a member of parliament to be driving around, waving, and jumping up on TikTok, as if it’s a reality TV show. You want responsible people to handle your business. You want decent, law-abiding people to handle your business,” she said at the People’s National Party’s St Thomas parish meeting in Morant Bay.
Touting her achievement as the parish’s youngest councillor, who previously served as mayor, Shaw promised to draw on her years of experience in resolving the parish’s chronic water crisis and the poorly maintained road network in the communities.
Noing that “St Thomas is a place where we have many, many rivers”, she pledged that, if elected, addressing the long-standing water shortages would be her top priority.
Roads, she said, would also be high on her list, which she would start addressing within her first 100 days in office.
“I want to tell you that you are not forgotten. When I walk on a daily basis and when I look at the roads – the district roads in the parish – it is less than desirable,” she said.
She listed roads in communities such as Johnson Mountain, Rolands Field, Pipe Road, Water Valley, Wilmington, Arcadia, Stanton, Spring Garden, and Sunny Hill.
Shaw pledged to restore defunct community centres, improve the state of Princess Margaret Hospital, modernise Isaac Barrant Clinic, revolutionise land distribution in the parish, and provide serious leadership for the youth.
Noting the overwhelming waste of agricultural produce in the parish, she also promised to establish two agro-processing plants in eastern and central St Thomas to create jobs, to benefit women especially.
“I am going to deliver the things that you need,” she said. “I have been serving all my life, and I want to tell you, Eastern St Thomas, that I don’t have to put up an orange sign to point me to the various districts in St Thomas.”
‘UNSTOPPABLE’
Meanwhile, PNP standard-bearer for St Thomas Western, Councillor Hubert Williams, delivered a fiery speech, warning that he was “like the force of nature” and “unstoppable”, declaring himself the inevitable next MP.
“No human being on the face of this earth can stop me from becoming the next MP for Western St Thomas,” Williams declared, to roars of approval from the crowd.
Like Shaw, Williams prioritised water issues. Calling it a “downright shame” that over half of the homes in Western St Thomas lack running water, he declared: “I don’t need 23 years to fix this. Give me one term. When you leave yuh home and come, yuh house must flood out.”
Williams also promised a revitalised agricultural sector – with better prices for coffee, upgraded farming tools, expanded irrigation, and more support for extension officers.
“We a go upgrade wi farmers from bike to four-wheel vehicle ‘cause we understand that farmers need fi upgrade dem pocket,” he said.
He also pledged to construct a mini-stadium in Yallahs to develop youth talent and promote community pride.
Meanwhile, Shaw renewed her criticism of the $10.3-million monthly rent the St Thomas Municipal Corporation will pay for space at the Morant Bay Urban Centre, calling it “a wicked act”.
“Can you imagine? How would I go and explain to the people of Morant Bay Division and to the people of Eastern St Thomas (to speak on behalf of my councillors)? That your road can’t get fixed. Your water supply is in bad shape. Your community centres are in bad shape. And then we are going to go in a building to pay rent for $10.3 million?” she asked.