THE Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will today begin issuing notices to vendors selling illegally in sections of downtown Kingston in its efforts to restrict selling to areas designated for that purpose.

Deputy Mayor Andrew Swaby told the Council on Tuesday that during the first two weeks of the initiative, vendors and merchants will be sensitised on the plans.

He said that during this period market areas will be cleaned and stalls removed from unauthorised areas. Signage in the markets specifying vending and no-vending zones will also be improved, he said.

Swaby said that a town hall meeting will be held with all stakeholders on January 23 at 80B King Street in the business district.

He listed the specific stakeholders as "the business community, vendors, the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), the police, the National Water Commission (NWC) and other concerned members of the community."

"The objective is to make it clear that we are determined to restore good order to the streets of Kingston... public order needs to be restored to the heart of the city. In short, vending will not be allowed in non-vending areas," the deputy mayor said.

Swaby reminded merchants that the NSWMA was responsible for removing residential waste, but only removes commercial waste if it is contracted to do so.

He maintained that a substantial amount of the garbage that was piled up on the streets of the business district after the Christmas holidays was as a result of illegal vending.

"I am sure that the issue was compounded by the considerable amount of garbage generated by illegal vendors, who would not have paid one dollar that could be used to offset the costs of increased garbage services. As a city, we cannot afford to have the unsanitary conditions that followed several days of shopping in our business district. I invite the public to join us in our efforts to reduce chaos and the potential for criminality on our streets," the deputy mayor appealed.

Meanwhile, the council on Tuesday approved a motion committing to put an end to the disorder and chaos caused by unregulated vending.

The resolution also resolved "that the KSAC engages the vendor committees in each market to assist in developing and implementing an improvement plan for each market."