The key points are temporarily unavailable. You can still read the full Story below.
Main Points
Former residents of Beecher Town, St Ann, are pressing for government intervention over water and infrastructure problems they say have persisted for decades, challenging any assumption that proximity to Ocho Rios guarantees development. In an April 12, 2026 report, the Jamaica Observer described a campaign by the Beecher Town Give Back Association, whose overseas members want improvements in the community where they grew up. Their accounts offer a perspective on change across a generation: the hardship they remember is the hardship they say they still encounter when returning. Sharon Codner, who migrated to the United States in the 1990s, told the newspaper that her father had repeatedly bought water for household needs and cattle. During droughts, she said, securing deliveries could become harder because trucks were sometimes unavailable. She questioned why a community so close to the tourist hub continued to face those difficulties. According to Codner, former residents living in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom established the association in 2012. She said it had grown to more than 300 members and supported health fairs, Christmas programmes, clean-ups and assistance for residents facing hardship. Water infrastructure, however, remained beyond the group's capacity, prompting a stronger emphasis on advocacy. The Observer reported that the association had undertaken a feasibility study aimed at bringing water to the area and submitted proposals to the authorities. Water Minister Matthew Samuda, Member of Parliament Kenneth Russell and the National Water Commission confirmed receiving the material. Samuda told the newspaper that a more technical document would be needed to determine the next steps. He said he had instructed his ministry's technical team to assess possible interventions and was willing to work with residents and diaspora members on a solution. He also cautioned that there were no quick fixes. These accounts do not establish how Beecher Town ranks against other Jamaican communities for development or change. They provide neither a population comparison nor a measured record of land-use and business activity. What they do document is a specific campaign over a longstanding service gap—and an official acknowledgement that further technical work is needed before a solution can be determined.
Former residents of Beecher Town, St Ann, are pressing for government intervention over water and infrastructure problems they say have persisted for decades, challenging any assumption that proximity to Ocho Rios guarantees development.
In an April 12, 2026 report, the Jamaica Observer described a campaign by the Beecher Town Give Back Association, whose overseas members want improvements in the community where they grew up. Their accounts offer a perspective on change across a generation: the hardship they remember is the hardship they say they still encounter when returning.
Sharon Codner, who migrated to the United States in the 1990s, told the newspaper that her father had repeatedly bought water for household needs and cattle. During droughts, she said, securing deliveries could become harder because trucks were sometimes unavailable. She questioned why a community so close to the tourist hub continued to face those difficulties.
According to Codner, former residents living in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom established the association in 2012. She said it had grown to more than 300 members and supported health fairs, Christmas programmes, clean-ups and assistance for residents facing hardship. Water infrastructure, however, remained beyond the group’s capacity, prompting a stronger emphasis on advocacy.
The Observer reported that the association had undertaken a feasibility study aimed at bringing water to the area and submitted proposals to the authorities. Water Minister Matthew Samuda, Member of Parliament Kenneth Russell and the National Water Commission confirmed receiving the material.
Samuda told the newspaper that a more technical document would be needed to determine the next steps. He said he had instructed his ministry’s technical team to assess possible interventions and was willing to work with residents and diaspora members on a solution. He also cautioned that there were no quick fixes.
These accounts do not establish how Beecher Town ranks against other Jamaican communities for development or change. They provide neither a population comparison nor a measured record of land-use and business activity. What they do document is a specific campaign over a longstanding service gap—and an official acknowledgement that further technical work is needed before a solution can be determined.
News Desk is the editorial publishing account for Tringlobe Media News, covering breaking news, public affairs, entertainment, community developments and regional stories across Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and internationally.
