YALLAHS MARKET TO BE CLEANED UP
MORANT BAY, MARCH 7 (JIS):
An extensive clean-up of the Yallahs market in St. Thomas is to be undertaken, with a view to begin accommodating vendors as soon as possible.
Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, who visited the facility on Wednesday (February 26), disclosed that he has “given instructions to the technical team in the Ministry to work with the Municipal Corporation to carry out an extensive clean-up of the market so a proper assessment can be done on the market to see where we go from here”.
The Minister estimated that in another three weeks he expects to have a full outlay as it relates to costing and the first phase of the cleanup.
Last October, Mr. McKenzie announced that the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation now has possession of the facility, which was leased to a former Councillor for more than 25 years.
“The vendors had to sit outside the gate of the market; [they] can’t enter the market. We gave a commitment that when the lease expired, we would not extend the lease to any other individual. That lease has expired… the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation now has possession of the market,” he stated.
Minister McKenzie is encouraging vendors to make use of the facility once it is renovated.
“It is important that we understand that whatever decisions are made after today’s visit and going forward… vendors and those who support the vendors must utilise the market. We can’t budget to spend to retrofit the market and then we find that persons are not utilising the market,” he said.
Furthermore, the Minister informed that he has asked the Municipal Corporation to allow the vendors to occupy the facility temporarily, during the assessment phase and after the clean-up is completed.
This, he said, will provide them with a “proper location” to ply their trade and relieve the sidewalks in the busy Yallahs Bay.
In addition to provisions for the vending of fruits and vegetables, the Minister said that the market should also include a haberdashery and “all the facets of a market”.
He assured the people of St. Thomas that, “the Government has been listening, and we are taking the actions that are necessary right now.”
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CONTACT: MICKELLA ANDERSON-GORDON
JIS REGIONAL OFFICE
MORANT BAY
