DILLON...the insurance is the wickedest part. By di time we pay fi dat, we nuh have nothing left fi we self.<strong></strong>
January 22, 2017
Wanted — official White River rafters want to get legal
RAFTERS operating along White River, which borders St Mary and St Ann, are calling on the government for assistance as they seek to legitimise their businesses.
The group, of approximately seven men, told the Jamaica Observer North East that business is most times difficult without a licence which the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) insists that they need to operate.
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“It could be better for us. If we had the licence for it, we could get more customers. To get the licence, dem (JTB) seh we have to get a piece of land. Not capture land either, we have to lease it or buy it and it affi show pon paper. Dem seh we affi get bathroom too and stuff like that,” one rafter and spokesman for the group, Noel Dillion, said.
“But the insurance is the wickedest part. By di time we pay fi dat, we nuh have nothing left fi we self. If dem can help we get it we will pay dem but yuh done know seh dem naah do that,” he added, noting that they have been asking for help for months now. The insurance, he said, would be an annual cost.
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He said that the main concern for the JTB, which having a licence would guarantee, is the safety of customers. Without this licence, small-scale rafters lose customers to larger and much more established businesses in the area.
However, Dillon, who has been rafting for five years, said even without the licence customers can be assured that they are in good hands.
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“First thing is we make good rafts; we get life jackets and we can swim. And what we do is not dangerous; it’s smooth sailing on the river. And the area we use is not so deep either; it’s maybe about five feet,” he stressed, adding that his tour usually lasts for an hour. The river’s deepest point is approximately 20ft.
The rafts, he said, are made from predominantly bamboo and are bound together with sticks and wire.
Safety concerns aside, he theorised that even with the licence business would “still be up and down” because a good day would depend on whether a cruise ship docks or not.
“People come and like it and tell dem friend a foreign and dem come and ask fi we. We naah treat dem bad we treat dem good and we nuh harass dem. People put we name online and market we, you understand. We (rafters) try work as a team but you know things will happen along the way but we still try we best fi do the thing properly.
“So we want the help fi get straight wid a licence suh we can do the thing legally,” he said, noting that their businesses have a positive impact on other businesses in the area.
“It help out people in the community to enuh. Sometimes the guests come and dem will buy a beer and suh and food and we still make a likkle weh we can spend wid dem, so it helps.”
Visitors to the island river tube on the White River which borders St Mary and St Ann.<strong> (Photo: Kenyon Hemans)</strong>
