Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

The decision by the Ministry of Tourism to withdraw $5 million of the $6.5 million it had allocated, through the Tourism Enhancement Funds (TEF), to clean up the North Gully in Montego Bay, has left the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry hopping mad.

"We cannot conduct business in this manner; we are running a country and this is a poor example of how we do business," said businesswoman Pauline Reid, president of the chamber. "Montego Bay is the tourist capital and tourism contributes significantly to our national economy."

With the withdrawal of the funds, Reid said she was quite fearful that the cleaning-up work the St. James Parish Council had started on the North Gully ahead of the recent visit by the Freedom of the Seas - the world's largest cruise ship - will now grind to a halt.

Controversy

The North Gully, a main drain in the city, has been the subject of much controversy within recent times with both the St. James Parish Council and the National Works Agency denying that the drain falls under their portfolio. The unclean drain has been blamed for Montego Bay's perennial flooding problem.

"While I wholeheartedly agree that the TEF should be used for the enhancement and development of the tourism product, with no clear direction as to which state agency is directly responsible for the cleaning of the gully, it was prudent and most welcomed when these funds were approved which allowed for the cleaning," said Ms. Reid.

In lamenting the debilitating impact recent flood rains has had on Montego Bay in terms of garbage washing out on to the streets, and in the harbour, posing a threat to reef and marine life, Ms. Reid said she was appealing to the Ministers of Tourism and Local Government to revisit the decision to withdraw the TEF and reinstate the funds.

"We have to ensure that the decisions taken are first and foremost in the best interest of the country and its people," Ms. Reid said. "We are also calling on the Minister of Local Government to streamline and assign the responsibility of the cleaning of the gully to the appropriate state agency with proper funding for sustained maintenance.