Dear Editor,

I read with interest your editorial, ‘The never-ending battle with litter’, published on November 2, 2026 and thank the Jamaica Observer for recognising the launch of the Downtown Kingston Redevelopment Initiative’s (DKRI) See It. Snap It. Fix It. campaign.

Your central point is well made. Jamaica has had no shortage of clean-up campaigns, many launched with considerable enthusiasm, only for the same problems to return. If we are serious about changing the condition of downtown Kingston, we must find a way to make improvements last.

This is exactly what the DKRI is seeking to address.

See It. Snap It. Fix It. is one component of a wider programme that includes regular maintenance of public spaces, the deployment of city wardens and our Keep It Clean campaign, through which local businesses take responsibility for maintaining their immediate surroundings. The new reporting system is intended to do more than encourage people to identify problems. It is an opportunity to test whether public agencies, businesses and citizens can work together more effectively, with clear reporting, follow-up and accountability for results.

The approaching Christmas season, with its increased commercial activity and pedestrian traffic, will provide a useful test of how well this approach works.

Your reference to the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce’s (JCC) Clean as a Whistle campaign is also instructive. The fact that this past effort contributed to institutional changes, including the establishment of Metropolitan Parks and Markets and the introduction of the Litter Act, makes it clear that the real value lies in what remains after the campaign has ended. Unless such efforts lead to stronger institutions, better systems and lasting changes in behaviour, we are destined to keep starting over.

The editorial also correctly observes that DKRI has no authority to compel Government agencies to act. This is an important point and one that we have been considering from the outset.

In 2023, the JCC commissioned a governance study to examine why successive plans and initiatives for downtown Kingston had failed to deliver sustained improvements. The findings pointed not to an absence of vision or good intentions, but to fragmented responsibilities, weak coordination and accountability, and the absence of an adequately empowered and funded entity responsible for maintaining standards across the district.

The study recommended a more formal public-private partnership, with the private sector playing a central role in the management and improvement of the area.

Our experience reinforces the value of this recommendation. There is already considerable agreement among Government, businesses, property owners and the wider public about the kind of downtown we want. That shared vision has existed, in one form or another, for decades. What has been missing is a durable effective mechanism to turn that agreement into sustained action. This is why we believe downtown Kingston should move towards a City Improvement District model, similar to arrangements that have been successfully implemented in cities worldwide from Johannesburg to Medellin to New York City .

The principle is relatively simple. Within a defined geographic area, businesses and property owners contribute towards additional services, ideally supported by redirected property taxes and managed by a specially established body with responsibility for delivery, maintenance, performance monitoring and accountability. These arrangements complement, rather than replace, the statutory responsibilities of government agencies.

Such a model offers a practical way to bring public, private and civic interests together around a common set of standards, supported by predictable financing and clear responsibilities.

DKRI has deliberately started with practical improvements on the ground. We believe it is important to demonstrate that change is possible, build confidence among stakeholders and learn what works before seeking to establish a more permanent arrangement. Already, public ratings of cleanliness in the district have improved from 39 per cent to 58 per cent, while the proportion of businesses reporting that surrounding conditions negatively affect their operations has declined from 49 per cent to 23 per cent.

These are encouraging early results, but they are not an end in themselves. The real test is whether we can sustain and build on these gains.

The next step requires stronger engagement from the relevant ministries and municipal authorities working with the private sector on an appropriate governance and financing framework for downtown Kingston. This must also be an inclusive arrangement, one in which businesses and property owners of all sizes can participate, residents and district users can have input and all can see a clear benefit from their contribution.

Downtown Kingston is too important to Jamaica’s commercial, cultural and civic life for its maintenance and improvement to depend on periodic campaigns or the goodwill of a few committed organisations.

We agree with the Observer that another campaign, on its own, is not the answer. What downtown needs is a permanent, properly funded and accountable system for managing its public environment.

That is the longer-term objective of DKRI. See It. Snap It. Fix It. is but one step towards getting there.

Michael McMorris

Co-chair, Downtown Kingston Redevelopment Initiative

Past president Jamaica Chamber of Commerce