Councillors, transport operators frustrated with continued closure of Junction’s new sanitary facility
Published:Saturday | December 13, 2025 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/ Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Councillors and public passenger vehicle (PPV) operators in St Elizabeth are experiencing growing frustration over the continued non-use of a newly built public sanitary convenience in Junction, which remains closed months after a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Cetany Holness, the councillor for the Junction division in the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation (StEMC), raised the matter at the corporation’s monthly meeting on Thursday, questioning why the facility remains locked despite the high volume of pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic that traverse the town daily.
“Your Worship (Mayor Richard Solomon), I am asking about the sanitary convenience in Junction because that facility remains closed, especially at a time when Junction is buzzing with activities. We need to get that facility open, so I just want to hear what the reason is why the sanitary convenience at Junction remains closed,” said Holness.
Junction is a major transit and commercial hub linking southern and central St Elizabeth, serving thousands of commuters daily, particularly along the Mandeville to Junction route.
In responding to Holness, Errol Lebert, the chief executive officer (CEO) at the StEMC, told the meeting that the delay was due to staffing issues.
“The recruitment process for an attendant is in process; we did an interview with one person. We sent the communication to the HR (human relations) Committee of Council, Mr Chairman, but I believe the hurricane activities have disrupted that communiqué,” said Lebert.
“We can have some discussion on a temporary employment arrangement until the committee deliberates on our recommendation,” said Holness, in suggesting interim steps that could be taken to address the matter.
Solomon said he stands ready to support the proposal to put an interim arrangement in place so that the facility can be used until the employment issues are settled.
“Councillor Holness, let us look at that temporary arrangement until then. I am in agreement with you,” said Solomon.
When The Gleaner spoke to transport operators in the aftermath of StEMC meeting, they expressed unhappiness with the existing situation, saying they have been waiting long enough.
“About a week before the general election they cut a ribbon to say they are opening the bathroom with a big ceremony and, from they open it, the facility remains locked up.... . We can’t get it to use,” one of the transport operators told The Gleaner. “Every day since that time it has been locked up.”
OPTIONS ARE LIMITED
Asked how operators and members of the public now cope, Holness said the options are limited and undignified.
“We have to go into a nearby bush. Sometimes we go to Juici beef and we have to buy something in there to use their customer bathroom,” he said. “If you really want to use a toilet, you have to quickly go home, if you live close.”
The transport operator, who has been operating on the Mandeville to Junction route for more than 10 years, questioned the intent behind the timing of the ribbon cutting, which was done by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie last August.
“We want the place to open. It seems as if it was just an election trick to say the place is open,” he said.
It was the general view among the transport operators that not having a usable public convenience facility in a heavily traffic area like Junction is an embarrassment, and needs to be rectified.
“It looks hard to have a newly built facility, and we want to use it and can’t because it is still closed up,” said a transport operator, who identified himself only as Vybz.
“I have to wait until I reach Mandeville or stop along the way to urinate.”
During the ribbon-cutting exercise in August, McKenzie said the Government spent more than $200 million in 2024 to upgrade public sanitary facilities across the country, in noting the importance of having accessible and clean public restrooms.
“I make no apology for coming here today to open this facility,” McKenzie said at the time.