MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell has blasted Manchester Central Member of Parliament Rhoda Crawford and Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie over what he claims is the politicising of repair works for the Mandeville Market.

Mitchell, who is the People’s National Party’s representative for the constituency, pointed to Crawford’s visit last Saturday — a day after gunmen killed two people and injured five others there.

“What pierced me most is that in speaking to the media she speaks about a sum of money that the minister says he is going to be spending on the market. I don’t know any of that, and what I am gathering from what she has said is that though it is the Manchester Municipal Corporation’s responsibility, she has been begging the minister for money to fix the market,” Mitchell told Thursday’s meeting of the corporation.

“I just want to say for the record that it is not so. I can go back as far as about 2011, 2012, somewhere there, when we did a study and the recommendation went as far as to the Inter-American Development Bank. And from our minister here now took over in 2007 we have not seen anything happening to those plans for the market,” added Mitchell.

Last Saturday, Crawford said she will continue to lobby for repairs to the market.

“Some vendors have pointed out the state of the market. There is a need for repairs. Even though it is the responsibility of the municipal corporation, as Member of Parliament I spoke with Minister Desmond McKenzie and I know that the Government has identified funds to see to the repair of the market, so in short order we will see repairs to the Mandeville market,” she said.

Plans were shelved for a three-acre property at the centre of Mandeville where the old — run-down market is located — to be redeveloped as a modern, multi-storey complex to house the market, through a public-private partnership.

Mitchell on Thursday reiterated his displeasure with the shelving of that plan.

“The fact is that we have not been getting any funds for capital [expenditure] to look at our facilities,” said Mitchell while pointing out also that the municipal corporation has not received a response regarding estimates in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in July.

“After the hurricane, we sent estimates to the minister — because there are some areas that are damaged — and to date the minister doesn’t even have the manners to write back to us and say he is considering it… but only to hear the Member of Parliament announcing that a substantial sum [is being allocated]. I don’t know what is a substantial sum, and how much it is, and which areas of the market will be looked after,” he said.

“I don’t want the politicians, except the municipal corporation, to [politicise] our market operations and our operations of the council. We are not trying to buy any stride,” said the mayor who added that repair works are also needed at the Christiana and Porus markets.