Carolyn Cooper | Papine Market gone from bad to worse

Nine months ago, fire broke out in Papine Market and destroyed a substantial section of the roof. Up to now, it has not been fixed. Vendors have been forced to use tarpaulin to create a makeshift cover to protect themselves and their produce from sun and rain. This is completely unacceptable.

On May 31, 2018, The Gleaner published a report on the blaze with this optimistic headline, ‘KSAMC promises speedy repair following Papine market fire’.

Mayor of Kingston Senator Delroy Williams is quoted: “The priority for us at the KSAMC at this point is relocating the displaced vendors. About 15 vendors were affected by the fire and our engineers are working assiduously to ensure that we can reorganise the space to accommodate them so they can earn an honest living.”

It’s good that the 15 vendors didn’t have to move out of the market where they are guaranteed a steady stream of customers. But the issue is bigger than simply reorganising space for vendors. The section of the market damaged by the fire is in an abominable condition. When it rains heavily, tarpaulin is an ineffective covering. Water rushes through the market and vendors have to wear water boots.

I’ve been told that over the last nine months, government officials have regularly come to inspect the site. But there’s no sign of any outcome from these visits. There’s no need for them to keep looking at the problem. The matter is simple: fix the roof!

PETROJAM’S IRREGULAR EXPENSES

Papine Market has been run down for a very long time. The fire has just made a bad situation rather worse. I do not understand why the mayor did not move swiftly to repair the damaged roof, as promised. He should have been able to secure emergency funding from some government accounts to get the job done.

If the mayor had known then what we all know now, he could have consulted Floyd Grindley, former general manager of Petrojam, to get tips on how to access and disburse government funding. The $2.6 million spent on two Petrojam parties would probably have covered the cost of fixing the roof at Papine Market. Not to mention the $5 million for the staff retreat and board of directors meeting last year.

And as for the $17.1 million paid to a US firm for ‘Balanced Scorecard Training and Strategic Development’ during the retreat! ‘Balanced scorecard’ (BSC) seems to be a BS term for basic commonsense management (BCM). According to the Balanced Scorecard Institute, “BSC is a strategic planning and management system that organisations use to:

Communicate what they are trying to accomplish

Align the day-to-day work that everyone is doing with strategy

Prioritise projects, products, and services

Measure and monitor progress towards strategic targets

Petrojam staff clearly did not need this training. The top management would not want to communicate to the Jamaican taxpayer what they were, apparently, trying to accomplish – spending public money on expensive entertainment.

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Right after the fire, there was a lot of talk about the big plans for the market. According to the May 31 Gleaner report, the mayor declared, “We have been designing and planning upgrades for the Papine Market to make it a more commercially welcoming space, so this [fire] is most unfortunate.”

The mayor also stated that the fire “will underscore the urgent need for the development to take place”.

So it seems as if he did recognise that the fire was a blessing in disguise, not just a misfortune. It was an unexpected opportunity to speed up all the grand plans for redeveloping the market.

Instead, there has been nothing but foot-dragging. The complete neglect of Papine Market is another clear sign that ‘Govament’ really doesn’t give a damn. If the mayor really cared about the market and the people it serves, he would have acted immediately. The need to fix up the market might have been urgent. But action is a completely different story.

POSITIVE VIBES

The conditions at Papine Market are so distressing, I decided last year to stop going. For over 30 years, that has been my market. I don’t have the strength for Coronation Market. I know that many vendors at Papine buy their produce there. I don’t mind the markup. That’s the cost of not bumping and boring downtown.

I have to admit, though, that I’ve missed the positive vibes. All of the meeting and greeting and the give and take of negotiating prices! I know many of the vendors by name: Pat, Dawn, Miss Mary, Tony, Donald, Juju, Kevin, Megan. With good humour, others answer to names based on the produce they sell: Bammy Lady, Nutsy, Yammy. In a class by himself is Grey Beard, obviously named for his personal style.

In defeat, I’ve recently started going back to Papine Market. It doesn’t look as if anything is going to be done any time soon to fix the roof.

I’ve written to the mayor twice, asking when repairs are going to start. He hasn’t bothered to answer. So much for urgency!

- Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.