KINGSTON, Jamaica – Residents, motorists and commuters alike were left furious on Monday morning after turning up to find different sections of the Corporate Area covered in garbage following the conclusion of Sunday’s Carnival Road March.
Up to 9:00 am on Monday, several of the city’s major thoroughfares were still lined with debris left behind by revellers and onlookers that participated in Sunday’s Carnival.
This prompted a visit to several of the affected areas by newly-minted Mayor of Kingston, Andrew Swaby.
He expressed disappointment with the state of the roads.
Lamenting that organisers of Sunday’s events ought to have initiated immediate clean-up of the environs of the road march, Swaby said the streets of the Corporate Area were an utter disaster on Monday.
“The bus stops are filled with garbage, the drains are filled with garbage and this is not what we had put in place. We have got calls from both residents and business persons to talk about the state of the garbage after yesterday’s event. While we are not against people having fun, they have a duty to ensure that the garbage is collected,” he told Observer Online. “Just like how they have prepared for this event, they should have made sure that they cleaned it up. There’s no way that we should be seeing a major business hub in front of Jamaica House in the state that it was this morning.”
Swaby made reference to sections of Hope Road which housed the infamous Carnival after-party, Big Wall. In several photos obtained by Observer Online, garbage lined the busy thoroughfare as people went about their usual commute. The mayor said the state of the roads has prompted him to call a meeting with Carnival organisers to chart a path forward. He expressed that the lack of urgent clean-up following the road march should not be allowed to happen another year.
“These are major thoroughfares: Knutsford Boulevard, Trafalgar Road – these areas are well lit and at no time we should be seeing this, this morning. The organisers were supposed to provide and make sure that they get the place clean right after the event,” he shared. “I have written to the CEO and asked that we have a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:00 pm because we have to put in place better arrangements for the next time around.”
