Between the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture, or really the Ministry of Junkanoo, Bay Street Shop Retailers have been slammed dunked. I have to wonder will they survive through Christmas?
Retailers on Bay cannot rely on the cruise visitors so between stay-over tourists and the residents they rely on those persons’ business BUT, and here is the kicker, you have to have a place to park your vehicle. With a sweep of yellow lines the Ministry of Transport between Charlotte Street and Parliament Street have reserved 20 parking slots for taxis – eight loading spaces and two large parking slots for limos. Imagine what they will reserve between Charlotte and The Hilton? Will there be anywhere for us to be able to park so we can shop?
Junkanoo for 12 days up to Christmas/Boxing Day which means the bleachers will be up from Tuesday, December 11th. If as the Minister indicates there will be 12 nights of Junkanoo all I can say God help the Bay Street Retailers because for sure the bleacher company is not dismantling the bleachers every evening.
Is the Minister taking totally Christmas, the recognition of the celebration of the Birth of Christ, out of Christmas once and for all? It seems so to impose the secular god of Junkanoo which probably, if you were to check, comes from some heathen celebration. At a time when we should be putting Christ in the minds of our young people the Ministry of Youth is going whole hog the opposite way. If the Minister doesn’t know, tourists for Christmas arrive one-two days before Christmas Day not 12-days prior to. The cruise people stay on-board where everything is paid for.
I am disgusted, although I love Junkanoo this is totally over-kill to the extreme.
Abraham Moss
Nassau, The Bahamas
October, 2012
