EDITORIAL: Old Harbour had its ‘Crab Circle moment’, now what’s next?

Both were thankfully caught on camera and shared with the public to pass their own judgement; both spurring the relevant authorities into action.

That there was no sanitary facility at Crab Circle over these decades should also boggle the mind of any well-thinking person, while it should behooves us to demonstrate our disquiet about the condition some of these food establishment here in Old Harbour oftentimes operate.

Rightly, the municipal corporation in the nation’s capital and the public health authority intervened and addressed the mess at Crab Circle which reopened last week after much remedial work was done on the facility as well as with the vendors.

Now following on the heels of that infamous video clip taken by a former employee at Betta Value supermarket here, two more supermarkets have been ordered closed by the St Catherine Health Department for breaches under the Public Health Act.

According to the local public health authority, the recent inspection conducted at Betta Value, Lee’s Wholesale and S-Mart was routine, which is to suggest that they have doing their jobs quite appropriately.

This reason will not wash, however, with many persons who conduct their weekly shopping here in Old Harbour, regarded as Jamaica’s fastest growing town.

For just by the smell, and look upon entering some of these food establishments begs the question of the role of the health inspectors employed at the St Catherine Health Department.

What is a routine inspection? How often routine inspections are conducted? What training or guidance is provided to operators of these food establishments? What are some of the best practices the public should look for when doing business at these food establishments?

These are just some of the lucid questions that only the St Catherine Health Department can answer and must provide answers to the public if they are serious about winning the trust and confidence of a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants.

For make no mistake about it, public health is as important as crime and violence. Whether through an act of carelessness, deliberateness or mere coincidence, a single breach of the public health rules and regulations can spark an epidemic of seismic proportion, resulting in loss of lives, livelihood, permanent disability and/or displacements. 

The human and financial cost can be incalculable.

Therefore it’s incumbent on the St Catherine Health Department to ramp up its efforts from an educational and enforcement point of view or criticisms levied at their feet stands to only get louder.