Dela Vega City celebrating shift towards peace

 

Dela Vega City, known as a crime hotspot in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, has been seeing a positive shift towards peace in recent years with one murder recorded so far in 2025. 

 

Senior Superintendent Hopton Nicholson, Commanding Officer for the St. Catherine North Police Division, says intelligence suggests that the murder is not connected to the community. 

 

A multi-stakeholder walkthrough of Dela Vega City was staged on Sunday to reassure residents and share the plans for transformation of the area. 

 

SSP Nicholson says there was a positive feedback from the residents who do not want the community to return to its violent past. 

 

"Dela Vega was...in the red for a long time, and it reached orange, and now, we can safely say it is in the yellow, which is the acceptable area. So, really and truly, we are happy for that and we hope that the various stakeholders within the community - and we want to express our appreciation for the pastors and the justices and the other members, the business community for partnering with us and for ensuring that we keep the engagement going - and if they continue in this said way, Dela Vega will be one of the spaces that people talk about, and for a good reason as well," he suggested. 

 

President of the Dela Vega City Benevolent Society, Dr. Clinton Daley, said the focus of the partner groups will be to remove the perception of violence from the area, which has impacted the services to which residents are entitled. 

 

"For almost four weeks, we had no garbage collection because the garbage collectors were afraid to come to Dela Vega. But we had some meetings with them and we're back, you know, in good standing. So I think the perception of Dela Vega is one of the major challenges we have. Even as crime rate has been reduced close to zero at Dela Vega City, people are still scared. So part of this drive is to really showcase Dela Vega as a community that is great to live in, great to raise children. And look, I've been away from Jamaica for almost, what, 30 years? And I left Dela Vega City too, with the sworn hope that I would never come back because of crime. And here I'm back because I couldn't miss this transformation. I just couldn't miss it."

 

Dr. Daley said a beautification project is also in the works.

 

Meanwhile, Dennis Robotham, President of the St. Catherine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber is willing to provide training and assist in the development of businesses in Dela Vega City.

 

He urged business operators to register with the Chamber of Commerce to make it easier for them to receive external assistance to improve their profitability.

 

"St. Catherine North, for example, the development of businesses have escalated exponentially. As you can see, the businesses that are coming through here - the GraceKennedy, the Carimeds, the Popeyes and all the other businesses - that it speaks to the fact that economically, St. Catherine and Spanish Town is very, very, very viable. And we believe that with Dela Vega coming on board... we will see the development of Dela Vega transforming into a first world community," he stressed.

 

Mr. Robotham told Radio Jamaica News that he is eyeing a market for tourism in St. Catherine.

 

"What we want the government to do now is to enhance the tourism aspect, and which we have the heritage at the sites that needs to be developed and moved to a higher level where we can see tourism booming. Because I believe that if it is tended to, Spanish Town and St. Catherine can almost be self-sufficient economically if that is brought on board. And we look forward to it."