The Ministry of Transport and Works, the National Works Agency and the Road Maintenance Fund signed a Memorandum of Agreement on October 19, 2011 at the Offices of the Ministry of Transport and Works.

This Agreement is intended to govern the working relationship among the three entities which are critical stakeholders in the construction and maintenance of roads in Jamaica. According to the Road Maintenance Policy, the type of activities to be undertaken as per the Agreement includes, rehabilitation, reconstruction and the methodology to be employed to undertake activities such as management strategies and the proper allocation of resources.

Some of the issues addressed by the Policy are:

• The retention of the road network at a density no less than which currently exist at the time of the legislation

• The establishment of a system of periodic maintenance for the entire network

• The establishment of a programme that institutes emergency repairs in order to establish linkages and restore damaged roadways to a state no worse than they were prior to the events

• The establishment of a programme of rehabilitation and patching to arrest deterioration

• The preservation of the network in required ‘good’ condition

Signing on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Works was Permanent Secretary Alwin Hales; on behalf of the NWA, CEO Patrick Wong; and on behalf of the RMF – Executive Director, Clement Watson and Chairman Peter Jervis.