Mayor of May Pen not into blame games

Jermaine Francis, Gleaner Writer

MAYOR OF May Pen Milton Brown yesterday said he would not dictate to the police how they should carry out their duties in removing illegal vendors from the streets of the Clarendon capital.

"Except that the process should not include abuse of any citizen," Brown said during a press conference held at the parish council's offices in May Pen.

The vendors, who protested for two days last week, said they were being harassed by the police and were taken before the court for illegal vending. They, however, claimed that the market was in a deplorable state and could not accommodate them.

Brown said that although about 2,000 vendors were registered to use the market, half of the market is vacant as vendors had taken over the taxi stand.

Open-minded approach needed

Meanwhile, the mayor said he would not be drawn into the blame game that surrounds the matter of street vending in May Pen.

He was responding to recent comments by Mike Henry, member of parliament for Central Clarendon.

Henry said last week that the vending problem would not be solved by any high-handed approach. He also noted that the situation would only be resolved by an open-minded approach from the parish council.

Brown said that in recent years, the May Pen Parish Council has spent millions of dollars repairing and maintaining the market. He said the council would be renovating sections of the market at a cost of $7 million.

This, he said, would be done even though the market does not generate enough revenue to pay its recurrent costs.