MONTEGO BAY, St James — Minister of Local Government and Community Development Noel Arscott says that a stringent system of prosecution will begin soon in an effort to reduce public littering.

"Whether it is a sweetie paper, a bottle, or a bag of garbage itself, we are going to begin a process to enforce the law, because we have to bring decency and sanity to the country," Arscott declared.

The minister was speaking on the weekend at the handing-over of space in Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market for the establishment of a police post.

In his address, Arscott urged Chairman of the St James Parish Council and Mayor of Montego Bay Glendon Harris to post notices in the vicinity of the market, advising the public of the penalty for littering.

"We have a problem in terms of the disposal of garbage and how we deal with waste. I want to ask the mayor that during the reorganising of the areas that you begin to put up the notice that persons will be fined for littering," he said.

He also told the gathering that the Government is working on a programme to reduce electricity costs and promised to ensure that the market benefits from the initiative.

"We have a programme that we are working on as it relates to reducing our energy bill and I am going to mandate the team that is working on that programme to look at this facility, to retrofit it, so that we can reduce your current expenditure," he explained.

He also commended the St James Parish Council for providing space for the police post.