MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Vendors at the arcade here are feeling the brunt of a generally tough economy.

Times have got even harder for them over the past several weeks since the light and power providers, Jamaica Public Service Company, cut their electricity because of unpaid bills, and also removed illegal connections.

Sales are slow and the numbers that once occupied the stalls and shops have dwindled. With the Christmas season just a few weeks away, the vendors are worried that they may lose out during a traditionally busy period.

The situation has left them very concerned.

“Is mostly evening time we mek a ting and from this happen we nah mek nutten,” said a male vendor.

Another vendor added: “We use to pack up all 8:00/9:00 (pm), now we have to pack up from 4:30/5:00 (pm). We need back the light. Right through the year a just scrape we a scrape. A Christmas alone we really nyam a food.”

But Mayor of Mandeville Brenda Ramsay says that at the heart of the problem is the failure of far too many vendors to pay their bills. Non-payment of electricity bills led to the JPS disconnecting “a number of individual meters sometime ago”, the mayor said. The situation was compounded after the JPS had to go back to cut off illegal connections.

Ramsay said the non-payment of bills was affecting not only the JPS, but also the parish council which collects fees from vendors to provide maintenance, security and well-kept sanitary conveniences. To make matters worse, said Ramsay, the parish council has been forced to consult an attorney after the JPS billed the local authority for “a substantial amount of money” said to be owing at the arcade.

“We have had to seek legal advice,” said Ramsay.

In their defence, vendors say a slow-down in business has rendered many of them unable to pay their bills.

Electricity aside, some vendors say the parish council fees of $1,500 per week for shop owners and $500 for a stall are burdensome.

“Yuh come yah fi the week an yuh nuh bruk ducks. Dung yah tun season market. After September and December it dead again,” one vendor complained.

“Every week we are supposed to pay $500 fi market fee, but wi nah sell nutten,” she said.

Another vendor explained that shop owners located at the rear of the arcade had paid their JPS bills and still had electricity. However, he said, they too have to close their businesses early as customers refuse to walk in the dark to get to them and the street light at the back gate has been out for over a month.

The vendors are also concerned about the maintenance, security and sanitary conveniences in their working environment, but the mayor said that unless they pay their fees, the services cannot be maintained.

“It is from funds generated that we are able to undertake these works. Consequent of them not being current in their fees then there are certain repercussions,” she said.

Ramsay noted also, that the opening hours for the arcade are 6:00 am-6:00 pm and vendors are not expected to be there afterwards.

The vendors, on the other hand, are insisting that they are not being treated fairly and that the parish council is not paying enough attention to their plight.

“The only somebody yuh see is the two (fee collectors) on Saturdays,” said one shop owner.