MANDEVILLE, Manchester — There was a tense exchange between councillors on both sides of the political aisle in Manchester on Thursday after they pointed blame over long-needed work on the Mandeville Market.

The heated exchange started when minority leader Omar Miller (Jamaica Labour Party, Craighead Division) stood to scold and question Mandeville Mayor Donovan Mitchell over comments made by the latter on a political platform recently for objecting to a new park for Mandeville.

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Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness had announced that the Government’s plans to construct a new park in the town.

Mitchell, in objecting to the proposal for the new park, said focus should be placed on plans for a three-acre property at the centre of Mandeville where the old, rundown market is located to be redeveloped as a modern, multi-storey complex to house the market, through a public-private partnership.

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Miller told Mitchell that he was “disappointed” over the comments made.

“Yes, we want the market to be fixed, but it is not the sole responsibility of the prime minister. If it is that he comes to us and wants to do something for the people of Manchester let him do it,” said Miller.

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However, councillors representing the People’s National Party chided Miller with some telling him to “sit down”.

Following an intervention by Mitchell, Miller was allowed to continue his statement.

“If after 40 years of a People’s National Party Member of Parliament having central Manchester and 20 years of having a PNP mayor, how are we now to quarrel with the leadership of this country? Why wasn’t it done under the PNP?” asked Miller.

Mitchell, in responding, accused Miller of “misleading the public”.

He defended the former PNP Administration and accused the current JLP Administration of shelving the market project.

“This Manchester Municipal Corporation took on itself a project… [with] consultants, architects, accountants and we developed a project for the town of Mandeville. Cecil Charlton Park is the first section of the project. The second section is that of the market. The PNP lost the elections in 2016. Prior to that the document went to [Office of the Prime Minister], it went to [Development Bank of Jamaica], it went to the ministry under Minister [Noel] Arscott and it was followed through,” Mitchell claimed.

“The only thing that was left is for the minister of local government to take the matter back to Cabinet, so it could go to the public-private partnership and up until now that project cannot be found in the ministry, because it was placed in file 13,” added Mitchell.

“Since 2016 that piece of paper has been lying in the minister’s office or somewhere in the Ministry of Local Government… nothing has been done where that proposal is concerned,” he said.

The project, said Mitchell, would be a solution to develop Mandeville and ease congestion.

“We have a parking problem in this town. We thought of using the three and a half acres of land that we have adjacent to the Manchester High School or to the parish church to temporarily remove the market and at the basement level we have a transportation centre. At ground level we will have the general market and haberdashery centre. On the first level we will have shops to be rented and up top of those we have another parking bay,” said Mitchell.

He added: “We weren’t asking the Government for the money. We were simply saying to the Government at the time to put it out to tender in a public private partnership and there was a schedule of how the repayment would be done, so they would build and operate and after they finish operating and making their money they hand it back to the Manchester Municipal Corporation.”

Entrance of the Mandeville Market (Photo: Kasey Williams)