The wish list for residents in Mayaro reads like one for the rest of the country.

They want better roads, facilities and grounds as well as more water and jobs.

It is a common theme throughout the other constituencies.

Another common theme: Many residents say they don't see their MP Winston "Gypsy" Peters, although some say they are aware he is doing work in the area.

The constituency is one of the largest and is only rivalled in size by Toco/Sangre Grande and Moruga/Tableland. It also includes the most southeastern tip of the country, Galeota Point, as well as Rio Claro all the way up to Navet Dam and borders five other constituencies.

At Williams Cafe, near Ortoire Recreational Ground Road, owner Brenton Williams said last Wednesday that employment in the area needs to be increased and he wanted a health centre nearer Ortoire.

"If anything goes wrong with you, you have to go to the health centre in Mayaro, which is quite a way away," he said, adding he hasn't seen his MP in months.

In a shed across the road from Williams Cafe, a group of seven young men were liming when the Sunday Express caught up with them.

Vince Bain complained about the state of the Ortoire Recreational Ground which he said doesn't drain properly and is left slushy for long periods well after the rains subside.

Bain also said the pavilion which was redone remains uncovered and the toilet facilities are incomplete.

He said he has not seen Peters since the general election, but the ground does receive some other visitors.

"Sometimes the pitch is invaded by goats, ducks and once an alligator was found in the middle of the savannah," he said.

Akiel Asevero said the ground needed better drainage and lights and he and his friend Kwame Joseph said there was no work in the area for the youth.

"Unemployment is a real big thing down here. Right now it have nothing going for us. We need CEPEP or URP down here to help give us something to do and earn a living," said Joseph.

At the Mayaro Market, fisherman Avery Baptiste had a litany of woes, including glass marble tiles used to surface part of the floor which made the footing slippery, improper rubbish disposal and unsanitary toilet facilities for vendors, unsanitary wood tables for cutting meat and fish.

He also showed the broken grills for the drains which were recently installed and the part of the market that floods to shin height when rain falls.

"This is the kind of nonsense we have to tolerate on a daily basis and we not getting any relief or help from the MP," he said, adding that he saw Peters once in a blue moon since general election in 2010.

At the Mayaro Beach accessed through Church Road, one beach-goer, who wished to remain anonymous, complained about the need for more than one wash and changeroom facility for the 19-mile long stretch of beach. He said the fishermen also needed an upgrade of their fishing depot.

Annette Gosine, a coconut/fruit and vegetable vendor who plies her trade along the Mayaro Road said: "Gypsy doh concern us, and Government doh care about us. Just the other day, we had a protest (at Cascadoux Road) because they promised years now to pave it because it has many holes and uneven and up to now it still that way."

Gosine said villagers also needed a regular supply of water.

Efforts to reach Minister of Community Development Peters proved futile as several calls to his mobile phone went unanswered or went directly to voicemail last week.

Peters' last venture into the constituency was July 10 when he visited the sites of several community centres in Mayaro to examine them to determine how far along some of them were in terms of completion.