Raftsmen and shopkeepers in the White River bridge area, on the St Ann/St Mary border, just outside Ocho Rios, are asking for the authorities to give them more time to legalise and have their businesses regulated.
Last week Tuesday, October 25, personnel from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the St Ann Municipal Corporation (SAMC) accompanied by police visited the location and severed notices on several operators. The NEPA notices were for them to cease and desist their operation in 24 hours, by Wednesday, October 26.The operators were given seven days to apply for NEPA licences. The SAMC notices were for owners and operators of what they said were illegally constructed buildings to provide proper plans and show how they intended to handle waste in the area. For years people have operated shops on the bank of the White River close to where it flows under a bridge linking St Ann and St Mary on the North Coast Highway. Operators of rafts have also been carrying on business along the river, with patrons including locals and tourists.However, police say the area has become a haven for criminals from further afield and that money from activities there is ending up in the hands of gangsters. Some tourism sources also say there is a risk of the illegal or informal rafting operations could undermine the industry. There have also been public complaints by the licensed operators, Calypso Rafting. Curtis Douglas, one of the leaders of the community at White River says the raftsmen are part of a registered company, Rafting on the White River. He says they are now seeking licences to operate to fulfil the requirements of the authorities. Mr Douglas says he has been doing business there for more than 22 years and others also have been there for many years. Mr Douglas says “We have people who depend on this for a living and who take care of their families this way.” He says they have retained an attorney to represent them. Mr Douglas says more than 20 of the estimated 50 raftsmen have been certified by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo). Meantime, one of the operators says the recent action of the authorities is all part of a long-hatched plan to get rid of the small operators and place rafting on the White River in the hands of a few. The men and women, some of whom operate cook shops and bars, say they intend to get the appropriate licences and will not be going anywhere.
A section of White River under the bridge.
Foreground left, some idle rafts on the White River.
A section of White River (under the bridge) showing some of the shops on which notices have been issued.
