Finger pointing while 'Ochi' businesses suffer
Published:Thursday | September 15, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
OCHO RIOS, St Ann:
WHILE HARASSMENT continues to be the number-one complaint of cruise passengers coming into Ocho Rios, there is finger pointing between the police and business operators regarding the implementation of the Prescribed Areas Act to fight the problem.
The matter was one of several discussed Monday at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at Sunset Jamaica Grande, Ocho Rios, St Ann.
President of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce, Kumar Sujanani, complained that the police were not implementing the Prescribed Areas Act, even while the complaints of tourist harassment persisted.
According to Sujananai, the complaint was top of the list from cruise passengers who disembark in Ocho Rios.
But according to Superintendent of Police at Area Two headquarters, Gary Griffiths, who was formerly in charge of St Ann, the police had, in fact, implemented the act in an area stretching from Island Village to Pineapple Place, effectively covering the majority of the resort town.
Superintendent Griffiths said the measure was discontinued due to non-cooperation and complaints by merchants, especially those on Main Street, the main shopping area in Ocho Rios.
Impractical
Sujanani argued that such a wide area was impractical to implement the act.
"Why don't you apply the Prescribed Areas Act in areas where tourists are most affected, because I believe the Prescribed Areas Act is designed, or came about to protect tourists against this sort of harassment over badgering," Sujanani suggested.
He added: "I think the entire length and breadth of Ocho Rios may have been a wise move then, but certainly for all intents and to be practical, let's enforce it only in a certain area for the time being."
Sujanani said the act could be implemented along the cruise-ship pier and around hotels, but wasn't necessary to go all the way to Pineapple Place.
Superintendent Griffiths, however, charged that there was more enforcement than goodwill, as business owners appeared not to support the Prescribed Areas Act. He said the Courtesy Corp, supported by the police, have been kept busy, but the inadequacy in numbers has left the law-enforcement teams overwhelmed.
Several shopping centres, such as Island Village, Harbour Shops, Taj Mahal and Soni's Plaza, have seen a chunk of their shops closed since the start of the year, some by as many as 50 per cent.
And according to Sujanani, more businesses are likely to close, as a result of the downturn in cruise-ship arrivals.
Meanwhile, the proposal to make parts of Ocho Rios pedestrian only has also found no favour with the business community.