John Myers Jr.
, Staff Reporter VENDORS IN the downtown Kingston commercial district say the new Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) fees which range up to $3,000 for vending licences for the Christmas season are onerous.
At a meeting convened by the KSAC and the Kingston City Centre Improvement Company (KCCIC) at the Jamaica Confer-ence Centre, downtown Kingston Thursday, the vendors indicated their intent to register with the KSAC but say they were unable to afford the fees as the returns from sales are low.
"To pay $3,000 one time is a bit too much for me because the profit is extremely small. You have people out there selling paper bags, scandal bags who will not be able to pay one time," one disgruntled vendor told the meeting. Others could be heard expressing their disapproval loudly in the room.
Under the licensing system, vendors will be charged between $1,500 and $3,000 depending on the category.
NEW CHARGES
Those applying for an occupational vending licence (markets and arcades) will pay $1,500; for occupational licence to operate off-street (open lots approved by KSAC) it will cost $2,500; and occupational licence to operate on-street (sidewalks, streets, lanes) will cost $2,500.
The KSAC will grant special occupational vending rights, allowing for freedom to vend in any designated area at a cost of $3,000. Persons who vend on a seasonal basis will pay a fee of $2,500.
However, vendors have only two weeks to fall in line as Town Clerk Errol Greene, has warned that the police will not be tolerating any vending on the streets without the requisite licence.
Those persons who choose to register now, their licence will take them up to the end of the financial year ending 2005. Those who register later, their licence will expire at the end of this financial year in March 2004.
EXTRA MANPOWER
Mr. Greene said the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) will be deploying extra manpower on streets to ensure that law and order is maintained. He assured that the implementation of the licensing system has the support of all the relevant bodies.
"The merchants are pleased, the vending community is pleased and we are pleased with where we are so far," he told the meeting.
