THE BOG Walk Market in East Central St. Catherine has been refurbished at a cost of $900,000. The renovated facility can now accommodate up to 60 vendors.
It was officially opened on Wednesday, November 27, at a ceremony attended by the vendors, the business community and officers of the St. Catherine Parish Council.
The work was funded by the Bog Walk Development Management Committee (BDMC), Lift Up Jamaica and the Enhancing Civil Society Project, which falls under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Logistics support was provided by the Social Development Commission (SDC).
Lift Up Jamaica financed construction of the sanitary block, the market house, fencing and the building of an administrative office, while CIDA was responsible for constructing the stalls and providing consultation for the development of a business management plan for the market. Additionally, CIDA donated a computer for the office and conducted a three-week training course in customer service and business operations for 30
vendors.
At the ceremony, vendors who attended the course received certificates of participation and manuals on customer service and the operations and management of the market.
Chairman of the BDMC, Sebert Hunter, said the idea for refurbishing the market came from Michael Betty, who was elected Councillor for the Bog Walk division in March, 1998. Mr. Betty formed the Bog Walk Development Management Committee to look at the redevelopment of the Bog Walk community, with focus on the market.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight, who is also Member of Parliament for the area, congratulated the BDMC for ensuring that the market was completed. He also commended Councillor Betty for spearheading the project.
Mr. Knight challenged the vendors and buyers, who would be using the facility, to keep it clean.
"The marketplace does not have to be a dirty place, it does not have to be a place where garbage is all around and it does not have to be a place where flies, roaches and rats abound," he said.
Mr. Knight emphasised that persons who have the responsibility for cleaning the market must do their job consistently.
The Member of Parliament said he was willing to assist the BDMC with other ventures to improve the market and its environs.
Also taking part in the ceremony were Secretary/Manager of the St. Catherine Parish Council, Michael Morris; Commercial Service Manager of the Council, Yvonne Purcell; Project Manager at the Enhancing Civil Society Project, Paulette Griffiths-Jude; and representative of the SDC, Patrick Johnson.
