SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie has assured residents of Savanna-la-Mar that they will have a say in whether the market there is relocated.

The commitment came Wednesday following his suggestion that the widely used market — which needs to be repaired after being damaged by Hurricane Melissa — may need a new home.

“I am giving the residents, vendors, the mayor, the councillor, the caretaker – I don’t see the [Member of Parliament Dwayne Vaz] who was here — and all of you the assurance that we will not do anything until we have your full input into how we proceed in treating the market,” McKenzie promised during a visit to assess progress in recovering from the October 28 storm.

He said that while he thinks the smart decision would be to relocate the market, he would yield to public opinion.

“I said earlier on that I don’t believe that it is a wise move, but the majority speaks. Because, if the majority never spoke, I wouldn’t still be the minister of local government. So I have to respect that. I am going to give that commitment to you,” added McKenzie.

Among those who had vociferously expressed opposition to the move was landlord and small business owner Malik Locke.

“Mi nuh interested inna no plan that does not include the Savanna-la-Mar Market being kept downtown. I will fight for that and mi ah go dead before the market move… We want our market and we want the market fixed,” he declared, adding that Sav residents are willing to help with the repairs.

“We have hands and heart ready to fix the market. We have a councillor [Julian Chang, who won the division on a People’s National Party ticket] who born and grew up here and is willing to fix the market. All we want is help to fix the market,” insisted Locke.

Chang agreed that the market should remain in its current location.

“A lot of people depend on the market. If we should remove the market from here in Savanna-la-Mar, it would be darkness,” she said.

For his part, Mayor Danree Delancy, who was also elected on a PNP ticket, expressed confidence that the minister would do what is best.

“This facility is indeed the lifeblood of some people and I know that you don’t want to disrupt anything like that but you will use your agencies and all resources at your disposal to make the right decision in the long term,” stated Delancy.

— Anthony Lewis

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie (left) listens attentively to landlord and small business owner in the town of Savanna-la-Mar, Malik Locke, who is adamant that the Savanna-la-Mar Market should be kept downtown. (Photo: Anthony Lewis)