OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Concerned by what he saw during a tour of the St Ann’s Bay Market, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie on Tuesday announced that funds will be immediately provided to do repairs.

“The ministry will be providing $15 million which will be released immediately to the St Ann Municipal Corporation to commence work to deal with the issues at the St Ann’s Bay Market,” said McKenzie.

“There needs to be urgent repairs to the sidewalk, some cleaning up of the facility, and to add a coat of paint to give a facelift to the facility. I’m a bit disappointed about the state of the market, and I share the vendors’ concerns about the challenges it poses to their livelihood,” he added.

During his visit one disgruntled vendor pointed out a sidewalk that she said has remained broken for almost nine years, though she has reported the issue many times.

The Ministry of Local Government recently allocated funds for repairs but the minister noted that while it is evident work is being done in the area, it will not be enough.

“Last year I did provide some amount of money to make repairs to the toilet in the market; those works are ongoing but much more needs to be done to address the issues. The work here is extensive and it can’t be done all at once. This is an incremental amount that will be given until we look at how best to deal with the lasting issues,” McKenzie stated.

The vendors expressed their gratitude to the minister for his visit and taking steps to address their concerns.

“I’m hoping that the vendors will continue to co-operate because Rome was not built in a day. The ministry will be working closely with the corporation to execute the work,” promised McKenzie.

Mayor of St Ann’s Bay Michael Belnavis lauded the minister’s effort to address the challenges at the facility.

“We at the St Ann Municipal Corporation will ensure the work is done expeditiously, because the residents and vendors need the work done so they can come in and enjoy the market experience,” Belnavis assured.