FALMOUTH, Trelawny – Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor C Junior Gager, says the Trelawny Municipal Corporation is racing against the clock to get the historic town spick and span in time for Sunday’s arrival of the first cruise ship at the port in 17 months.

According to the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), the Emerald Princess is scheduled to call at the Falmouth Port on Sunday. It will be the first vessel to return to the Trelawny port since cruise shipping was suspended last year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The ship is expected to call with approximately 3,500 passengers and crew.

Celebrity Equinox, Aida Diva and Crystal Serenity are also expected to return to Falmouth later this month. Disney Cruise Lines’ flagship vessel Disney Fantasy is scheduled to return in December.

Gager disclosed that along with additional financial assistance from the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), the municipal corporation has undertaken a major facelift exercise in the town.

“We have met with TPDCo and TPDCo has agreed to come on board with us to assist with the cleaning up. In fact, we are trying to make sure that whatever funds TPDCo can find to do the job, we will match it or even put more on it,” said Gager, who is also chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation.

“There is a lot of work that has to be done to welcome the ship. But we are doing it on a timely basis.”

He noted that the cleaning of drains is among the priority of work to be completed ahead of the arrival of the Emerald Princess on Sunday.

“Because of the recent heavy rainfall a lot of debris has gathered. We are working on that to get our drains back in order, getting our streets in order. A lot of grass has grown real fast so we are making sure that everything is done,” Gager told the Observer West.

He noted that the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is also on board with the municipal corporation “to make sure that the garbage collection is on time”.

“We are also making sure that NSWMA gets on board with us and makes sure that the garbage collection is on time. But more than that, we want to make sure that the people in and around Falmouth continue to use the bins to discard their garbage and just don’t throw them in the garden area,” he appealed.

He added: “We will be making sure too that the store owners discard their garbage in the right and proper way because right now we have evidence of store owners just coming out and dumping their garbage at the foot of the small receptacles.”

The mayor expressed confidence that the resumption of cruise vessels will provide economic opportunities in the town.

“Business operators should also be excited because when the cruise passengers come they will want to purchase items and hang around. That will be great business again for the town,” he argued.

But one entrepreneur, who usually sells cold drinks and other items in the town on the cruise arrival days, is not convinced that the town will benefit significantly.

He argued that “like in Ocho Rios, St Ann, cruise passengers might be whisked away to attractions outside of the town”.

“I am not too optimistic because me hear sey the passengers dem will not stay in the town. They will take them to special places like what happened in St Ann,” the vendor, who spoke to the Observer West on terms of anonymity, expressed.

Radcliffe Powell, who peddles craft items on the port during “ship days”, said he is not anticipating that business will return to where it was before the suspension of cruise shipping.

“We just have to watch and see. Business might pick up gradually but I am not expecting that to happen immediately. We just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best,” Powell noted.

In the meantime, Gager lamented that some individuals who have been displaced from their jobs since the COVID-19 outbreak are now vending on the streets. He said he has no choice now than to rid the streets of illegal vending.

“We have been serving notices on some of the higglers that are selling on the streets. We are trying to put things in place. I have been out there myself interacting with the people. We don’t want to use the heavy-handed approach. Many people are pushing us to use the heavy-handed approach but I find that when you communicate with people and let them understand what you want to do they will cooperate with you. And we must remember that we are in the COVID pandemic,” Gager argued.