SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — More than four-and-a-half years after losing millions in a massive fire, relocated apparel vendors at the parish councilsupervised arcade adjacent to the market in this south central town, say they are at their wits’ end.

Some have given up. In recent weeks, vendors say, some among their number have abandoned their shops or have been pulling down the structures because of slow sales, fear of criminals and bitter frustration caused by alleged neglect from the St Elizabeth Parish Council.

“From we come down here a disaster fi business,” a voice echoed from among a group of vendors when Observer Central visited last Monday.

Valerie Berry who travels from Thornton to Santa Cruz at least six days of the week to sell clothes in the Santa Cruz arcade showed the Observer Central what she said was an increasing number of bare concrete bases where shops once were.

Observer Central was told that some registered vendors are before the court for non-payment of fees. Some of those who have abandoned or pulled down their shops are said to be selling clothes, shoes and other goods on the streets or have ventured into other activities including farming.

Those who remain say they are finding it increasingly difficult to pay the $2,000 monthly market fee charged by the parish council.

The vendors’ quarrel with the parish council dates back shortly after the catastrophic fire of October 2008 which gutted their make-shift stalls, then located south of the market, across from Scotiabank, close to or verging on Main Street.

Despite strong protests from vendors at the time, the parish council insisted that in the interest of good order, they would have to relocate to the area they now occupy — 30 to 40 metres further away from Main Street and contemptuously referred to as “market back”.

The vendors predicted then that they would lose business. They argued that many of their customers would not bother to walk the additional distance to get to them; that the new area was flood-prone, environmentally unfriendly, and too close to those selling farm produce; and further that they would be preyed on by criminals especially after dark.

However, the parish council pressed ahead. The vendors were relocated. They built wooden shops on concrete bases provided by the parish council.

The council also paved and fenced the area that had been devastated by the fire to accommodate a long-promised transportation centre.

But years later the taxi and bus park — meant to serve communities in western St Elizabeth — is only lightly used with many transport operators preferring to woo passengers on the street and shopping plazas.

A vexed issue for the arcade vendors, especially during the Christmas and New Year period, has been the descent on the streets of Santa Cruz by vendors from across Jamaica , depriving them — as well as store owners — of business. The arcade vendors have vehemently protested down the years that while the parish council shifted them to the back of the market, illegal street sellers are given free rein during the holiday season.

Last Monday, disgruntled vendors told Observer Central that an increasingly youthful consumer target market are choosing to patronise illegal street vendors as well as legitimate stores on Main Street, rather than walk the relatively long distance to ‘market back’.

“A last resort we get, a what lef we get. When dem (customers) don’t have no other option dem find here and it never used to be suh,” said one vendor who chose not to give her name.

When Observer Central contacted Mayor of Black River and Chairman of the St Elizabeth Parish Council Everton Fisher, he said that while there are no plans to relocate the arcade vendors to their original location, there is a possibility they could be moved elsewhere.

While conceding that taxi drivers are rarely using the designated area — the arcade’s original home — Fisher said the parish council intended to remain firm.

He said that soon, strict enforcement measures will be in place at the transportation centre, as a submission made for official Gazetting of its status should come into effect by September.

Fisher said that Minister of Local Government and Community Development Noel Arscott and Member of Parliament for North-East St Elizabeth Raymond Pryce have also promised funding to assist in “aesthetic work” at the arcade.

However some vendors are questioning whether the authorities are really interested in their welfare. They point to security issues as evidence of what they believe is a neglectful attitude by their landlords, the parish council.

Clair Coke said that about two years ago she was robbed of $240,000 in her shop shortly after receiving the funds from a credit union.

There have also been reports of several break-ins at night after vendors have locked up and gone home.

Nehemiah Brown said that he was robbed of an undetermined sum of cash and clothing from his shop at gunpoint one early morning recently after sleeping in his shop.

“If dem (authorities) hear sey anything happen down yah mi not even know if dem sorry…Dem cyaan come come dump we so man…,” said Coke. “When month end time dem (parish council authorities) get fi dem pay so why we cyaan get help from dem. Every God Almighty day (dem a go try sort out something). If that was a song I woulda know it by heart…,” said Coke.

Yvonne Anderson who was seen with her infant grandson when Observer Central visited said she was selling on the street before she decided to get a shop through the parish council.

Now, she believes that the concerns of the vendors are falling on deaf ears even as their survival is at stake. Anderson, who said that she has been selling since she was 19 years old, argued that she cannot now simply leave and do something else. In addition, she said, she is now too old for the job market.

She claimed Jamaica’s political process has failed her.

“Mi feel tired, mi feel drained. Anybody else come here I am not talking. This is not what I vote for. Mi vote for People’s National Party (PNP) and I will never vote again,” she said.

Shaun Nembhard, Commercial Services Manager at the St Elizabeth Parish Council, told Observer Central of plans in place for the restructuring of the arcade facilities.

He claimed that the municipal police are very active in carrying out anti-illegal vending activities, a watchman service is provided 6:00am to 6:00pm each day and the parish council is now responsible for the electricity bill at the arcade.

Nembhard said the parish council does not support vendors spending nights in their shops. He said that they are encouraged to “secure” their valuables as the security provided by the parish council may not be adequate.

He argued also that all vendors have a signed agreement of the terms and conditions of their tenancy.

Both he and Fisher suggested that some of the claims made by the vendors may be exaggerated.

However, the mayor said that the council is committed to working with the vendors to improve their earning potential.

“I am willing to work with them (vendors) to see how best they can make some money (but) everybody can’t be on the front page,” he said.

— additional reporting by Garfield Myers