Bartons CDC president to focus on tourism, community centre

Roughly two months ago, Pastor Austin Chulan emerged as the new leader of the CDC, an umbrella group operating under the auspices of the state-run Social Development Commission (SDC).

In an interview with Old Harbour News, the clergyman said that after two official executive meetings, the way forward is becoming clearer.

“We are trying to get a community centre,” he said. “There are two unoccupied buildings by the post office, so we are trying to get one of those. Also, we are trying to get a golden age group active, as well as the football and cricket teams.”

The community centre is integral to the establishment of a homework centre, a planned initiative that has been long in the making but has yet to materialise.

CDCs are well established across Jamaica and play a vital role in shaping policy decisions at the local level.

Among their mandates is to create and support local economic development projects – an area of focus that Chulan and his team are keen to explore. At the moment, he said, they are discussing the possibility of transforming the Red Cap River and a number of caves in the area into tourist attraction sites, which could provide a major economic boost for locals.

“We have some spots in Bartons that can be considered attractions, like the Red Cap River where we have a nice dam and stuff like that. There are some caves in the community. So those are on the table,” said Chulan, who is the founding pastor of The Worship and Praise Sanctuary church based in the community.