WESTERN BUREAU:
THE SAVANNA-LA-MAR Market, in Westmoreland, which the town's Mayor, Councillor Delford Morgan, recently claimed was being operated as a 15-room motel, is to receive a $7m allocation from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) to address infrastructural work.
The market, which was recently used illegally to stage a dance, is said be plagued by a combination of sanitary concerns and poor management, which is said to be seriously affecting the facility's ability to function as a financially viable entity.
"We need to deal with the problems at the market urgently," said Mayor Delford Morgan, in an interview with The Gleaner last week. "Already we've had visits from engineers and consultants from the Ministry of Local Government and while they are doing their assessment and drawings, an initial amount of $7 million is earmarked to remedy the drainage and sanitation concerns."
In addition to the funds from JSIF, the Westmoreland Parish Council is anticipating that with the new fee structure, which was introduced at the market last month, the facility will be able to break even, if not make a profit, this year. However, some councillors are of the view that a proper management structure must be implemented to ensure success.
MAYOR ANGRY
Speaking at last month's monthly meeting of the Council, a seemingly angry Mayor Morgan remarked that, "I went into the market and what I saw was a 15-room motel in operation. When I enquired of the manager what was happening, he told me that the motel was there before he took over."
At the same meeting, Mrs. Ulit Wright, the Council's director of finance, stated that on a recent visit to the market, she saw two large music boxes there. She said when she enquired what was happening, she was told that a dance was held inside the market the previous night before. She said when quizzed about the situation, the market's manager Wellesley Keddo said he knew nothing about the dance.
PROPER MANAGEMENT LACKING
"It is clear that proper management is lacking at the market and something must be done about it urgently," said Earl Brooks, the chairman of the Council's commercial Services Committee. "The nastiness taking place there has to come to an end regardless of whatever threats are made against the Council and its staff."
In looking at the immediate future of the market, which is now being subsidised to the tune of J$5m by the Parish Council, Mayor Morgan said he thinks it will take about $15m to put the facility into peak condition. He also strongly hinted that the management system would be restructured within a few months.
In addition to factors such as the illicit use of the market as a dancehall, Mrs. Wright also told the Council that electrical appliances such as radios and television sets are being used inside the market, and that water was being transported from the market to other locations.
- Cedric Johnson
