Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie (left) and other officials stoop to view a section of the Musgrave Market in Portland which was destroyed by fire on May 28. The minister toured the facility on Friday. The market is to be rebuilt with fire safety features, to aid in preventing a reoccurrence of the inferno that displaced several vendors and their businesses.

Speaking during a tour of the market, McKenzie said the Jamaica Fire Brigade, “will ensure that the fire safety features that they insist on in private and other buildings now become a part of the new Musgrave market”.

The minister expressed that there is now an opportunity “to make a new start”, while assuring that the vendors will have a seat at the table when decisions are being made about the market.

He told the vendors, some of whom were present for the tour, to “nominate two or three persons who will sit with the ministry and the municipality to discuss how we proceed with the market”..