Mayor of Kingston Delroy Williams has hit back at criticisms from the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) about the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC) handling of the Crab Circle debacle.

The popular food spot came under public scrutiny after a vendor was seen in a viral video carrying out an unsanitary act, which resulted in the location being ordered closed by the Kingston and St Andrew Health (KSA) Health Department.

“They hid the vendors at Crab Circle when President Obama came. Fine, lets say you didn’t have time, so when President Obama left, then you should have done something to Crab Circle. They did absolutely nothing. We came years after and we started to renovate Crab Circle and an unfortunate incident happened and instead we pulled together and find a solution. They started assigning blame but you know what, while they were assigning blame, we were finding solutions. So, let them sit and look who to blame, what to blame, when to blame and where to blame. We will be finding solutions to the problems and the challenges across Kingston and St Andrew,”

MAYOR OF KINGSTON DELROY WILLIAMS

He was speaking at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) 80th annual conference on Sunday, November 26, at the National Arena.

In response to the closure of Crab Circle, Opposition spokesperson on local government, Natalie Neita Garvey, said she was appalled at the total breakdown of important areas of administration and inspection in the local government and public health systems, which led to the national disgrace at Crab Circle.

She argued that the KSAMC, which is responsible for licensing and inspecting food establishments, is to bear responsibility for the full health risks posed by the unsanitary conditions and unregulated activities at Crab Circle.

Crab Circle was officially reopened last Thursday, November 23, following the training and certification of the vendors to become small food facility operators.

Bathrooms and handwashing stations were also constructed at the location.