Vendors out selling as volunteers rehabilitate Charles Gordon Market
Published:Monday | May 23, 2022 | 1:06 PM
It was business as usual for several vendors at the Charles Gordon Market in Montego Bay, St James today as volunteers carried out Labour Day activities at the facility.
Marcia Shakes, who says she has been selling in the market since 1983, said the condition of the facility is at its worst and welcomed today's cleaning exercise.
"I like what they are doing. I have not been in there yet to see the work that is being done,” Shakes told The Gleaner.
Shakes, like several other vendors, is concerned about potholes and the state of the market's roof.
"If they take off (replace) the zinc over where I sell, I will be good. It's a river when it rains," she pleaded.
The St James Municipal Corporation led a team of volunteers from the private and public sector, including the JPS Foundation, to carry out sanitisation works on the market and the wider market district.
The facility, which is the main fruits and vegetable market in St James, saw the clearing of garbage and debris by a team from the National Solid Waste Management Authority.
Painting of one of the buildings housing the police post at the market was carried out by volunteers from JPS Foundation and staff of the municipal corporation.
The market was also washed and sanitised.
According to deputy mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, the market and its environs were selected as the parish's Labour Day project because of its significance to the corporation and the health of the parish.
"Charles Garden Market and the market district I would say is one of the most important areas within a municipality. And if we have learned anything from COVID-19 is the fact that we have to maintain a certain level of sanitation and to always maintain as best as possible cleanliness,” he told The Gleaner.
- Albert Ferguson
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