MoBay mayor renews call for special development fund for the city
Published:Saturday | January 25, 2025 | 4:17 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon is renewing his call for central government to create a special fund aimed at financing the western city’s development and management, particularly with the city’s continued status as a gateway for international visitors to enter Jamaica via the Sangster International Airport (SIA).
Following his keynote address at Thursday’s third staging of the MBJ Customer Experience Excellence Awards ceremony, in Montego Bay, where 40 employees attached to the airport were recognised and awarded, Vernon told The Gleaner that Montego Bay should have a dedicated fund for infrastructural development.
“We still maintain that Montego Bay should have a dedicated fund for continuous infrastructural development due to the impact it has on travel, movement, construction, and everything associated with the build-out of the air transport and tourism sectors. We have to ensure that we can continue to meet the requirements of these developments by providing the necessary infrastructure,” said Vernon.
“For example, we need expanded roadways and rehabilitated sidewalks, and we need these things in place to ensure that we continue to keep up with the pace of development that is happening in the private sector. Therefore, we must have a dedicated fund to meet those requirements,” Vernon added.
He made a similar call after the May 2024 official opening of the airport’s runway extension. That appeal was made two months after Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett announced that Jamaica welcomed one million visitors and earned US$1 billion in foreign exchange during January and February 2024.
While he was not prepared to say how much money would be required for the proposed city financing fund to operate, Vernon said such a fund would be different from the visitor tax that is managed through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).
“We would continue to work with the TEF, sending our proposal for infrastructure development in various areas once it is shown how tourism is benefiting, and that is how you have to justify your request to the TEF. But for the city of Montego Bay, there is so much to be done,” Vernon said. “The fees that we collect, including from building fees and property taxes, are not enough to drive the city of Montego Bay to the level that it needs to be at, to ensure that we are aesthetically upstanding and that we have the requisite mechanisms in place to promote the law and order that we want to achieve within the space.”
The Ministry of Tourism reported in January this year that total passenger movements at the SIA during 2024 amounted to 5.06 million. That number represents a decrease compared to the 5.2 million travellers who passed through the airport in 2023.