OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Three days before voters go to the poll in St Ann North Eastern, the Jamaica Labour Party-led Government continued to roll out the goodies. There was a ceremony to reveal a $10-million upgrade to bathrooms at the Ocho Rios Market o
n Friday.

The unveiling of the shiny new bathrooms followed Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie’s assurance, Tuesday, that $15 million would immediately be made available to fix issues in the market that vendors have long complained about.

While they await promised repairs to sidewalks, cleaning of the facility, and a fresh coat of paint, vendors who turned up Friday morning to see the new bathrooms were impressed.

“I feel so wonderful about this new bathroom; in there looks so good and feels nice. The old ones were out of service and they came in and give us this new set-up, and I’m so thankful,” said Bryan Buckle.

He has been a vendor in the Ocho Rios Market for 35 years.

A grateful Buckle promised to heed the local government minister’s appeal to users to take care of the facilities as they would their own.

Another vendor, Stephanie Bryscoe, said she was pleasantly surprised when she saw the renovated area.

“The new bathroom is well done. I can sit and eat in there because of how clean it is,” she joked.

McKenzie said it was important to him to keep his promise to fix the bathrooms.

“When I toured the area last year I was concerned about the appearance of the market, especially the public sanitary facilities. Those are of importance because 80 per cent of the persons who use our markets are females, and it is difficult for females to take care of themselves when proper facilities are not in place,” he explained.

“There are 37 markets across Jamaica and they are maintained by municipal corporations, and the responsibility of local government is to provide the funding to assist in the necessary repairs and maintenance,” added McKenzie.

During the event, mayor of St Ann’s Bay and councillor of the Ocho Rios Division Michael Belnavis also extended his gratitude for the support from the local government.

“This facility was well needed for the users of the market, and I’m urging you all to ensure that the facilities are not sabotaged or badly used. We appreciate it, and we have to take care of it to ensure there is some longevity to it,” he urged vendors.