By Colin Blair, Contributor
Dilapidated ghettos still present grave problems to Jamaica. - File
THE NEW People's National Party (PNP) Government started off in a similar manner to earlier administrations with talk of urban renewal and promises to rescue the blighted metropolitan areas of Jamaica.
About two months after the elections - December 10 to be exact - Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced a working group comprising representatives of interest groups to start the process of implementing a comprehensive plan for the redevelopment of the downtown Kingston shopping district.
The group, headed by Dr. Vin Lawrence, chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), was mandated to meet, arrive at specific recommendations and submit a report to the Prime Minister by mid-January. Huntley Medley, the Prime Minister's press secretary, yesterday confirmed that Mr. Patterson had received the report. He said he was in the process of making copies of the report available to members of the steering committee, which will meet next week to discuss its contents.
The Prime Minister has reportedly described the document as "quite comprehensive" and has said it "could provide the framework for action".
The formation of the group may have been spurred by the usual pre-Christmas skirmishes between vendors, storeowners and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). The first foray was made by the KSAC, as it tried to remove vendors from the streets of downtown Kingston. The move failed, and subsequently the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), headed by Michael Ammar, Jr., attacked the Corporation for its incompetence and inability to deal with illegal vending in the business district.
Mr. Ammar, Jr., called on Central Government to take over the management of the city from the KSAC.
The JCC head issued an ultimatum to the Government, declaring that if it failed to rid downtown Kingston of illegal vendors then the Chamber would take things into its own hands.
Mr. Ammar, Jr., never got a chance to fulfil his threat as the Prime Minister's group was set up to deal with the issue of urban renewal, including the matter of street vending and several other issues.
The following were among the terms of reference given the group:
- To examine, in conjunction with any other plan, the study document,
Vision 2020, with a view to determining its acceptance as the basic framework
for the Kingston redevelopment envisaged, in order to promote economic development
and job creation.
- To explore the linkages with the development of Port Royal, Gunboat
Beach, corridors from the airport, the trans-shipment port, a commercial free
zone, heritage sites in Spanish Town, the relocation of the General Penitentiary,
as well as other projects in the Kingston Metropolitan Region, as it may deem
appropriate.
- To consider what projects should be afforded the earlier priorities,
taking into full account the need for the social and physical development
of the entire area, with the requisite emphasis on the social environment
and the physical infrastructure worthy of Jamaica's capital city.
- To explore the possible source and methods of financing the overall
development.
KSAC'S BATTLE ON THE STREETS
The establishment of the group was greeted with applause by various sectors of the society.
Meanwhile, those directly involved in urban renewal activities claim they have been actively working and have not been sitting on their hands waiting on the Prime Minister's intervention.
Town Clerk at the KSAC, Errol Greene, said the Corporation has been trying to bring some semblance of order to the streets of the capital, and had experienced some success in removing vendors from the streets. The success of the KSAC on this front, he noted, could be seen by an increased interest among vendors in obtaining market spots.
He said the Corporation had put in place infrastructure to deal with the licensing of vendors. "The forms are here, people are here to do the registration, we have an agreement with the Electoral Office for them to do the identification and the licences are here."
On the issue of derelict buildings, he reported that the KSAC has "... spent a lot of money and effort to deal with derelict buildings." He explained that "... you cannot just go in and knock down buildings; there is a process you have to go through and we are going through that process."
The Town Clerk says at the last Council meeting a resolution was passed to deal with 86 derelict buildings in a swath stretching from western Kingston to Harbour Street.
At the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, there was some reluctance to speak and efforts to contact the Minister proved futile. The reason may have been that the Minister and Ministry are trying to find their feet. Government consultant, Anne Shirley, said that the Ministry was attempting to determine its role, and was sorting through the process of identifying who were the players with which it needed to interact.
She said the Ministry was concerned about the co-ordination of various agencies, and the maintenance and monitoring of projects. She pointed to the myriad beautification projects that happen in the city, most of which were not maintained.
Colin Blair is news editor at 'Nationwide', the current affairs programme on Power 106.
