By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
LESS THAN 48 hours before merchants are scheduled to shut down their businesses in downtown Kingston to protest against the poor conditions, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) launched a major clean up of the area, yesterday.
Under the watchful eyes of heavily armed policemen, workmen contracted by the KSAC bulldozed stalls in the area of Orange Street, between Beckford and Heywood Streets, chopped down trees and destroyed concrete planter boxes(in which trees are planted).
The trees were planted by the Government about two years ago to beautify the busy commercial district and provide shade for shoppers.
"This is part of a programme to expand the road and reduce the sidewalk to about 12 inches," said an official from KSAC, who was supervising the work.
In respect of the stalls destroyed, the KSAC official said those higglers will have to find somewhere else to sell. He further explained that the island in which the traffic light is located, at the intersection of West Queen and Orange streets, will be upgraded.
The decision to shut down the busy commercial district was made at meeting of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce's (JCC) urban renewal committee last Tuesday and later explained to the press at a briefing at Club India, Lady Musgrave Road, Kingston.
Committee members said that they had written countless letters to Government about unsanitary conditions, illegal vending, drugs being sold openly and protection rackets to no avail and have put forward renewal proposals which have been basically ignored.
They are calling on Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, and his Government, to put in place the required security personnel and financial resources to return law and order to downtown.
Speaking yesterday on televised programme on Television Jamaica (TVJ) yesterday, JCC representatives Mark Myers and Michael Ammar said the JCC was highlighting the plight of downtown Kingston and was not forcing anyone to close their business.
