Mayor of Port Maria Fitzroy Wilson is warning vendors, business operators, and taxi drivers that the St Mary Municipal Corporation will adopt a zero-tolerance approach toward those who disobey orders to use designated areas in Annotto Bay.

Wilson said the current state of the town is of serious concern, noting that these individuals continue to block sidewalks and roads, creating significant difficulties for commuters and pedestrians navigating the area.

He pointed out that the situation is particularly problematic in the vicinity of Annotto Bay Market, since many vendors have opted not to use the designated market space. Instead, they line the sidewalks and surrounding areas, restricting pedestrian access and contributing to congestion and disorder within the town.

“On any given day, you would not see maybe more than one or two persons in the market, and everybody on the street…where they are left to the mercy of the world. They do not have a covering. They are not on paved surfaces, and where they ply their trade, it is not aesthetically pleasing nor healthy,” Wilson told the Jamaica Observer.

“In the market, it is much better. I’m not saying to you that based on what is happening, the market could not be in better condition, but if we’re not earning anything from the market, it is very difficult for us to invest and to allocate funds to fix the market that nobody is using,” he added.

He noted that the municipal corporation and the relevant stakeholders have been conducting consultations in the area and will not back down when contested.

“We have walked through the streets of Annotto Bay, and we have spoken to the vendors. We’ve spoken to the taxi drivers and the bus drivers in the town. We have spoken to the business community, and we prosecuted a few of them when we went, because there were some extreme breaches that were so blatant.

“We’ve served warning notices on many of them and made the recommendation as to what needs to be put in place to facilitate even some of those businesses that are in stores, because they would be displaying their [items] at the side of the road. They take out some of their appliances and some of their hardware, take out their wheelbarrows and other things, and have them on display at the side of the road and blocking also the sidewalks,” he told the Sunday Observer.

The mayor noted that the vendors and business operators were given sufficient time to fix the breaches and warned that “when we go back, we’re going to have a no or zero-tolerance approach”.

He added that many vendors refuse to pay market fees, and that will not be acceptable going forward, as the funds are needed to renovate the space.

Last year, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development completed a $19-million renovation of the market. The renovation included the sanitary stations for both vendors and the public, the renovation of the meat section, and the construction of haberdashery shops, among other infrastructure repairs.

“We are on a drive to regulate the space as we have done and have been doing in Port Maria, which is reaping a lot of success. I would have come up on similar setbacks in Port Maria, where we would have complained about conditions in the market, which is also a fairly new market that [vendors] wouldn’t go to,” Wilson said.

“Now we are seeing compliance, and we are seeing compliance from the public transportation representatives that are using the transportation centre — not fully, but a lot of improvement has been done in Port Maria — and Annotto Bay is slated for the next area that we are going to give attention to, and as such, we are encouraging the vendors to use the market,” he added.

The mayor also invited individuals who sell haberdashery items on the road to take advantage of the newly built shops that are being rented for $3,000 per week, and stop blocking the streets.

He noted that the parish had too many road fatalities last year, and the municipal corporation aims to make the road safer in 2026.

“We have vendors on the sidewalk that even persons with a physical or visual disability are not able to use the sidewalks, and that is not fair to our community and to people with disabilities. I am saying to them that the sidewalks must be reserved for what they were intended for, and I have no apology in enforcing this,” said Wilson.

“I will continue to ask the municipal corporation, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and other external agencies to join in to bring some semblance of order, decency, and hygiene to our township in the parish,” he assured.

WILSON…when we go back, we’re going to have a no or zero-tolerance approach