MORE THAN $1 million is to be spent in the next four to six weeks to do a general clean-up and renovate two toilet blocks at the Oxford Mall Market in West Kingston.
The Ministry of Local Government said yesterday work costing $511,300 would be carried out on the East Block of the Oxford Mall North. Work on the West Block of the Queens Mall facing East would total $489,713.
The project, to be carried out in phases, is set to get under way next Monday.
Work will include painting inside and outside walls and ceiling, plumbing including the installation of toilets and ceramic tiling to wash tubs and urinals in the East Block. The project will also oversee the installation of doors and door jambs, protective for toilets and masonry work including partitions as well as cleaning and repairing manholes/sewer lines.
The market project, which was started in the late 1980s by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government, was put on hold after the People's National Party (PNP) assumed office in 1989. Questions about it surfaced again late in 1999 after Member of Parliament for West Kingston, Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, told the House of Representatives the imported roof had been lying in a warehouse near Caymanas Park, St. Catherine, since 1991.
In early January last year, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson ordered work to complete the market be resumed in the earliest possible time, promising the Oxford Mall market would provide adequate and affordable space for more than 4,000 vendors. However, it has been slow going for the completion of the market which has been plagued by problems and delays in finishing various phases.
Meanwhile, the Ministry awarded three contracts to IBM (Jamaica) Limited and Management Control Systems last Tuesday in a US$1 million effort to computerise the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and other Parish Councils.
IBM is to supply computer hardware, with individual Parish Councils getting between 25 and 35 computers, while Management Control Systems is to supply the computer software and installation services. The companies have been given about eight weeks to supply computer software and hardware and six months for storage configuration, installation, delivery and development services.
The procurement is being made under a Parish Infrastructure Development Programme (PIDP) loan, funded jointly by the Government of Jamaica and the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB).
This followed announcements by the Ministry of Local Government to send 330 of its senior managers, mayors, councillors and policy makers back to the classroom to take lessons in Business and Corporate Planning.
Another 140 people, including secretaries, accounting officers and technical officers, will be exposed to information technologies and software applications word processing, spreadsheet and database applications.
By the end of November, the personnel should be trained, the Ministry said.
