Members of the security in downtown Kingston last November, during a noisy demonstration by vendors who were protesting against their planned removal by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation. The demonstration forced merchants to pull their shutters. (Observer file photo)

City merchants vowed last night to go ahead with today's planned shutdown of Kingston's downtown business district, a position that is likely to put the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) on a collision course with the government despite it continued declaration that the action has nothing to do with partisan politics.

"Nothing has changed," JCC president, Michael Ammar, told the Observer. "We will still close our doors on Tuesday."

"This is neither a protest nor a confrontation," he added. "What we are doing is trying to restore law and public order and to place Kingston on the list of national priorities (for the government)."

But last night ruling People's National Party (PNP) sources remained convinced that the JCC's action, in the middle of the campaign for the national elections to be called soon by Prime Minister P J Patterson, was nothing short of an attempt to embarrass the government and to give support to the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

'Forget the words and get to the action and you see the real intent -- to embarrass the administration," said a senior PNP source. "You notice they have decided to go along with the their strike despite all the pleas from several quarters."

Among those calling for the chamber to pull back from its action was the National Democratic Movement/New Jamaica Alliance which said that both sides should "immediately re-engage in dialogue at the bargaining table".

Earlier in the day, though, both the information minister, Colin Campbell and the local government minister, Arnold Bertram refrained from any political characterisation of the planned shutdown, although Bertram continued to suggest that the businesses acted in bad faith by deciding on their strike after a meeting with officials at the JCC at which he believed there was an agreement on a programme to begin to deal with the problems of the old section of the city.

At the same time, Campbell stressed that the security forces would be out in large numbers in downtown today to head off any problem in the city and made it clear that government offices in the city would be open.

"The area will be secured," Campbell told reporters after the weekly meeting of the Cabinet. "All government offices will be open."

The JCC, which has been promoting its major, integrated plan for the redevelopment of the tough downtown area, announced its plan for the shutdown of the business district last Wednesday, claiming that the government had failed to provide full backing for its proposals.

But the immediate trigger was apparently the failure of the administration to allocate $5 million a month which the Chamber insisted was necessary to clean the city.

Bertram pledged $1.5 million, saying that this was incremental to what was being spent and suggested that more funds would come, as was available and necessary.

The local government minister yesterday remained adamant that he had left a meeting with JCC officials, who had reached a consensus, only to be taken aback by the strike announcement.

He said, too, that the merchants had given commitments to urge fellow merchants to pay up taxes and fees owed to the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, the city's local government, as well as to assist the KSAC in enforcing laws among merchants.

"The sustainability of the operation resides not only with the government, but with the businessmen themselves," the minister told reporters. "I find what they are currently contemplating is contrary to the spirit of the meeting."

But Ammar argued yesterday that the government had not kept its commitments, given over several years, to rehabilitate downtown.

"We apologise to our customers for any convenience caused," he said. "However, we believe that this action is necessary in order to focus public attention on issues affecting the development of the capital city."

At the weekend, the Council of Presidents of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, in a carefully-worded statement gave moral support to the downtown merchants and the JCC without a clear, forthright endorsement of today's action.

While declaring disappointment that commitments given by the government on downtown "have not been honoured" and that public order needed to be restored, the PSOJ's Council of President said: "We regret that the proposed shutdown... is felt to be necessary by the business community, but agree that downtown Kingston needs to be urgently addressed."

The council, comprising heads of several organisations that fall under the umbrella of the PSOJ, said that it intended to work with the Chamber of Commerce and other associations "to form a private sector committee to work with the government for short and long-term solutions to this problem".

The JCC, in the meanwhile, said that they would use the day to clean-up the commercial district.

Said a statement: "The clean-up exercise will cover the commercial district in the area bordered by Church, King, Orange and Princess streets."

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