KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is seeking to incorporate vendors of the Ray Ray Market into the Oxford Market after both markets were recently razed by fire, which investigators believe are the work of arsonists.

Mayor of Kingston, Delroy Williams, along with Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Michael Phipps, toured sections of the downtown Kingston market district on Wednesday.

Both McKenzie and Williams believe changes are necessary to stem the series of fires that have plagued the area for years, with the KSAMC rebuilding the various facilities each time. Criminal gangs operating in the area, who are fighting for turf and extortion funds, are suspected to have started the most recent fires.

The latest fires took place on February 22 and Sunday, when the Ray Ray and Oxford markets were respectively destroyed. Over the years, fires have also destroyed the Pearnel Charles Arcade, Jubilee Market and Redemption Market.

READ: WATCH: ‘Ray Ray’ Market vendors left frustrated after latest fire

READ: Police list person of interest in ‘Ray Ray’ Market fire

According to Williams, members of the KSAMC will be analysing plans to turn the Ray Ray Market into a car park and taxi bay that will serve the market district, which McKenzie said comprises 11 of the 17 markets in the Corporate Area.

“The KSAMC, we believe that it (Ray Ray Market) should be repurposed to be used as a car park and as a holding bay also for taxi operators. There are issues we are having with the downtown area, with respect to parking, especially in the market district and with respect to the transport network, the taxi operators and so forth. It’s the view that it should be repurposed for that, which is something that is now under discussion and we will pursue that.

“We need strong enforcement also within the market area. We have looked at it and some changes will come into the Oxford Mall. We believe that vendors can be relocated from some spaces, such as the Ray Ray ground to other facilities with enough space and so that we have better control in terms of managing these spaces,” Williams said.

McKenzie added: “My observation is that the situation as it is now, presently can’t continue. I have spoken to the mayor and I am going to be convening a meeting with several multi-stakeholders in government — the Ministry of Agriculture, the UDC, the Ministry of Local Government along with the KSAMC — to look at how we are going to improve the situation because we have been having fires consistently.”

Williams said that while workmen are currently clearing the Oxford Market of debris, the City Engineering Department of the KSAMC will be assessing the situation to determine the time and funding that will be needed to refurbish the facility.

According to McKenzie, he will discuss with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security the assistance that the government can afford to offer to vendors who were impacted by the fires. He said, however, there will be challenges in this regard, as many of the vendors were operating without a permit and were not paying the market fees.

Meanwhile, SSP Phipps, who is the commanding officer for West Kingston, where the market district is located, said that the police are seeking to interview a suspect who goes by the alias ‘Peppa’, as information suggests that arson is a possibility.

Phipps stated that the police are conducting additional work with the Jamaica Fire Brigade to determine the cause of the fire.

“We have been talking to several persons but one remains outstanding, one known as ‘Peppa’. We are appealing to him to turn himself in to the police so that we can have him interviewed and determine what course of action, if any, should be taken against him.

“We have information that he is known to frequent the West Street and also the Matthews Lane community of downtown (Kingston),” Phipps said.