A window in the newly refurbished offices of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) on Church Street, downtown Kingston, which was smashed by a stone thrower over last weekend. -Ian AllenSEVERAL PEOPLE who were owed money for work done on the Rae Town renewal project in Kingston should be happier today. That is, if all went according to plan yesterday, when they should have been paid the rest of the money owed to them for rehabilitation work on sections of the downtown Kingston.
Rae Town Councillor Jennifer Newman and Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) Town Clerk Errol Greene, promised yesterday that at least some workers would be paid, as the KSAC was trying to work things out.
Sources told The Gleaner that a portion of the money had been paid out to the workers before Christmas. But, the hold-up with the balance resulted from the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which is spearheading the project, sending only $2 million of the $5 plus million needed to pay off the workers.
There are allegations that the non-payment of the money is behind alleged threats to staff, as well as the smashing of a window in the newly refurbished offices of the KSAC with a stone last week-end. Councillor Newman denied that the incident was related to the project employees. The Town Clerk said he did not know who threw the stone.
An estimated 200 workers are said to be assigned to the multi-phase project, part of a $130 million inner-city renewal plan announced by Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson in March last year.
Rae Town was the first of 48 communities selected to benefit under the project, which is aimed at restoring the infrastructure and further develop depressed communities in the Corporate Area.
