By McPherse Thompson, Staff Reporter
WHOLESALE MERCHANTS and other proprietors in downtown Kingston are expected to lose millions of dollars in sales because of yesterday's involuntary shutdown of stores in the business district following demonstrations by vendors.
Although most businesses could not quantify their expected revenue loss, proprietor of Bashco, Gazan Azan, said yesterday would normally have been a 'wholesale day' and with all the stores closed the losses would "definitely run into millions of dollars".
Among other businesses affected were the national airline, Air Jamaica, whose administrative offices are located on Harbour Street. At mid-morning yesterday when The Gleaner checked with Air Jamaica, a staff member said all workers were being sent home because of the disturbances and there was no one there who could quantify revenue losses, if any.
The King Street branch of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) said that although its doors were opened up to 2 p.m. when it usually closes to the public, very little business was conducted because customers stayed away. A staff member there said the banking hall was usually jampacked on a Monday. A manager at the Bank of Nova Scotia said the bank's business at its main offices near the Kingston waterfront did not appear to be impacted by the disturbance, at least not up to early afternoon.
Most stores located along the capital city's major thoroughfares pulled down their shutters early despite the presence of heavily-armed police and soldiers, apparently fearing a backlash from vendors and criminal gunmen. Some sent home workers early, while others kept a skeletal staff and adopted a wait-and-see situation.
The situation yesterday was compounded by a wave of sporadic shooting incidents which began on Friday night, leaving downtown Kingston tense throughout the weekend. Several roadblocks, mounted by citizens in different areas of Central Kingston to prevent a recurrence of drive-by shootings, were still in place throughout the day yesterday. Such roadblocks led to an early halt to business at the Registrar of Titles' offices at the intersection of Hanover and Charles Streets. The Ministry of Health headquarters at lower King Street were also reportedly affected.
Mr. Azan said that while there was heavy police presence in downtown Kingston, the stores were closed because "we are not doing any business," meaning that customers refused to go into the potentially-volatile area.
While hoping that the upcoming Christmas sales would not be affected by the incidents of the past few days, and that "we can come to a quick resolution of the matter," Mr. Azan said, "it's going to affect businesses in downtown (Kingston) for weeks to come because of the perception that the area is under siege".
Public relations manager of the state-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), Errol Lee, said that it was too early to quantify revenue losses arising from yesterday's incident, but said they had made alternative arrangements to transport commuters. He said that although buses were still plying the downtown Kingston routes, commuters were being shuttled into the Cross Roads area which was transformed into a temporary hub.
