No, this is not the former den of Henry Morgan and his rampaging buccaneers, it's the Port Royal Post Office. Repair plans have obviously got lost in the mail. -photos by Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

What's not working?

To say the post office serving Port Royal resembles something from one of Stephen King's horror flicks would not be an exaggeration.

It has all the ingredients to make for a perfect haunted-house box-office thriller: the floorboards creak occasionally; the countless holes in the structure create the eerie feel of always being watched; and there is that annoying piece of zinc on the roof that needs to be nailed down properly, rattling the nerves when it clangs on the building at the breeze's bid.

Residents of Port Royal say the structure is safe neither for their mail nor for postal staff, citing the dilapidated infrastructure as easy prey for criminals.

Synopsis of situation

The post office in the history-rich Port Royal is a disgrace! Had Tyrone's Watch visited the area at night, we would have had to be armed with crucifix, holy water and a few battle-hardened exorcists.

Susan Goldson, a resident, was quick topoint out that apart from recently constructed restrooms, the post office was a monumental mess.

"Nobody can be safe in that post office, neither man nor mail. Look how the place rotting away. I feel sorry for the people that have to work in there," she said. "Go and look at the back of the post office or take a peep underneath it, everything rotting, down to the bathroom beside the post office look better than the post office itself. That not right."

Ann-Marie, another resident, shared similar sentiments and noted that the post office has already been broken into by criminals. She added that conditions were exacerbated after Hurricane Ivan ploughed through the island in 2004. And the situation has got progressively worse since then, she says.

Who's responsible?

Central Sorting Office (CSO).

What's the status?

Gordon Brown, public relations officer at Central Sorting Office, said that they were aware of the situation at the Port Royal Post Office and that the situation would be addressed eventually.

He further explained that the CSO's inability to identify a suitable building to relocate the post office had handicapped the process. The PR point man also said repairs to the current structure would require the intervention of the building's owners, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT).

Attempts to contact Gavern Tate, director of estate management and business development at JNHT, were unsuccessful.

Conclusion

It seems that the wait for a building suitable to facilitate the relocation of the Port Royal Post Office is an indefinite one. But the question is, why weren't any repairs of any sort carried out to save some face at the post office, even if it required the intervention of the JNHT?

In the sarcastic words of one patron present at the post office when Tyrone's Watch visited, maybe it's that Port Royal is renowned for its historic ruins, the relevant authorities wanted to apply that theme to the post office building as well. Or was she being genuine?

The bottom line is this: things are not looking good at the Port Royal Post Office and something needs to be done before it falls apart any further.

- Marlon Vickerman