By Omar Anderson, Staff Reporter 
Torn tents and sprawling metal frames littered the Metropolitan Arcade in downtown Kingston yesterday. Millions of dollars were spent last November to repair the arcade for the relocation of downtown vendors. - Norman Grindley
THE KINGSTON and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will again be focusing on the downtown Kingston vendor relocation which is expected to be in high gear following the Christmas season.
But the relocation could be hampered if the composition of the board of the KSAC Markets Company Limited is not settled soon. Town Clerk Errol Greene said yesterday that Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors were still dissatisfied with the board's make-up.
Councillor Desmond McKenzie of the Tivoli Gardens Division said yesterday that he'll be meeting with Local Government Minister Arnold Bertram this morning to discuss the JLP's opposition to businesswoman Maureen Webber being a member of the Markets Company's board.
"We would like that person to be a representative from the Parish Development Committee which was the original idea," he told The Gleaner.
In November last year, several JLP councillors walked out of a KSAC council meeting at the Jamaica Conference Centre because Ms. Webber and Robert Stephenson were voted onto the board. Mr. Stephenson, who heads the commercial services unit in the Ministry of Local Government, has since declined to sit on the board. The JLP councillors charged that Ms. Webber and Mr. Stephenson were People's National Party (PNP) activists.
The operation of the Markets Company was to begin on December 1 last year but was put on hold because of the imbroglio over its composition. The Markets Company is to take over from a consultative committee which had been overseeing the relocation of vendors downtown Kingston.
Meanwhile, last month, the vendors asked the KSAC to give them until January 20 to relocate to their prescribed vending areas. If allowed, this would be the fifth deadline they would be given.
But vendors yesterday still sold their wares in non-vending areas, and a resolute Town Clerk insisted that although they were allowed to sell during Christmas, they were expected to start relocating to their new spots immediately.
He said the KSAC will be ignoring their January 12 deadline, and will be calling on the police once more to help with enforcement. "We are determined we are going to have law and order," he said.
Yesterday, a Gleaner news team visited downtown Kingston to get a firsthand assessment of the conditions of the various markets and arcades following the repairs in November which amounted to some $20 million.
The Pearnel Charles Arcade, the Wolmer's Arcade, the Jubilee Market, Redemption Market and Arcade, all appeared to be in reasonably good condition for accommodating vendors.
However, the Metropolitan Arcade on Church Street was an eyesore, as all the tents which had been placed there to house the vendors were torn and strewn about the place. Metal fragments also littered the yard. It is understood that the arcade is to be transformed into a KSAC car pound.
Meanwhile, the Oxford Mall is still uninhabited despite repairs made. And conditions at the mall appeared to have worsened with the accumulation of piles of rubbish, punctated by drops of faeces here and there. The obnoxious scent of stale urine also filled the air.
While admitting there were shortcomings at some of the markets and arcades, Mr. Greene said, however, that the KSAC has put out lots of effort in preparing the various downtown markets and arcade for the planned relocation. "There's no doubt that we have been able to do everything," he said. "But it's still better than selling on the streets. Even the worst market is better than the streets," he said.
Meanwhile, the Town Clerk said the KSAC will be focusing more on enforcement this year, especially as it applies to parking and the adherence to building and planning codes. Mr. Greene said the KSAC has hired a planning director to help with the enforcement.
He said beautifying the city will also be a central plank of the Corporation's initiatives this year, in addition to installing parking meters.
