{"id":279034,"date":"2021-12-23T13:49:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T17:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=279034"},"modified":"2021-12-28T18:05:37","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T22:05:37","slug":"christmas-display-goes-down-on-the-roseau-bayfront-as-mp-announces-shut-down-of-santas-mall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/christmas-display-goes-down-on-the-roseau-bayfront-as-mp-announces-shut-down-of-santas-mall\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas display goes down on the Roseau Bayfront as MP announces shut down of Santa\u2019s Mall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Santa’s Mall at night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The less than one-month-old Santa Mall on the Roseau Bayfront which featured an array of Christmas decorations and entrepreneurs is being shut down for what appears to be an outcry due to unfair treatment from the public.<\/p>\n

The shimmering elaborate holiday displays which formed part of the \u2018Christmas district\u2018 was organized by Parliamentary Representative for the Roseau Central constituency\u00a0 Mellisa Poponne-Skerrit, who said that it will create opportunities for the business and tourism sector and will bring relief to the many small businesses who have been impacted by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

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Facebook post from Melissa Poponne-Skerrit’s page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a Facebook post earlier today, the wife of the Prime Minister announced that she had decided to shut down the Santa Mall on the bayfront completely from today, without going into detail as to why this decision was taken.<\/p>\n

Dominica News Online (DNO) has also received a letter sent to the vendors\/ entrepreneurs from the Roseau Christmas District Committee informing them of the decision to close the<\/p>\n

Santa’s Mall as of Thursday 23rd December.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with great sadness that we write to formally confirm that Santa’s Mall operations are cancelled as of Thursday 23rd December. The Roseau Christmas District Committee extends a sincere apology to all for the inconvenience this has caused for your business operating plan for the season. Even though we have lost Santa’s Mall abruptly, we have gained experience. Every cloud has a silver lining,\u201d the email said.<\/p>\n

According to the letter, a percentage of the application fee will be reimbursed to all registered vendors who are asked to contact\u00a0 1 767 614 7097 to arrange the settlement and provide a receipt for the issuance of reimbursement.<\/p>\n

Initially, Mrs Poponne-Skerrit had announced that the mall which operated daily from 9 am to 12 am, was expected to remain open until January 2022.<\/p>\n

Many have assumed that this decision was taken due to public reaction that such an event may prolong the pandemic as it opens the door for the virus to spread among participants. DNO has attempted to make contact with the Roseau Central MP to confirm the reason for the closure but this effort proved futile.<\/p>\n

However, just yesterday, Mrs Skerrit took to social media, encouraging the public to \u201cbring their family down to the Santa’s mall for a wonderful Christmas shopping experience.\u201d This came hours following a statement from the police which discouraged public gatherings over the holidays even among family members.<\/p>\n

Several individual took to social media to express their views:<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it wasn’t supposed to have family gatherings, so bring your family and come where? Allu really serious man? So none of the rules and protocols not for the Christmas mall? So contradicting…hmmm\u201d…<\/p>\n

\u201d We can bring d family down to bayfront but we cannot bring the family together on Christmas day. You see that Commonwealth.\u201d….<\/p>\n

\u201dFor real then, bring my family to Santa mall,and risk getting COVID but can’t go to their homes even I Know their status… Happy Christmas merry new year tan\u201d…<\/p>\n

\u201dSo Santa\u2019s Mall is Covid free!!! Ok then carry on. Lovely Dominica,\u201d were just some of the comments made by citizens on Poponne-Skerrit’s Facebook post.<\/p>\n

From the onset, senior pastor Randy Rodney was one of the many voices who advocated against the staging of such an activity.<\/p>\n

\u201c..doh go there, you hear me, don’t go there, why because that’s a source of the transmission of the virus. All they are doing is putting us at risk for them to come back and tell us is we that do it. Is not we that do it, is all you that putting us at risk, stop putting us at risk,\u201d Rodney stated.<\/p>\n

While delivering his impassioned speech, he lamented that protocols set by Health Ministry officials are being ignored by the government, which he says sends a double-standard signal to the masses who are asked to abide by the same health protocols stipulated by law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey give us restrictions like nobody’s business for the church, they say in the act that there must never be 250 people in one setting\u2026 but they opening all kinds of things that have more than 250 people. what is that, is that science or marjee, or are they putting you at risk?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n

Pastor Rodney questions permission granted to Prime Minister Skerrit\u2019s wife Melissa to hold a super spreader event on the Roseau Bayfront, while churches are restricted to a few people. He asks, what kind of message are we sending out there, when the church has more restrictions than a potential super spreader that is allowed to be operationalized?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have too much marjee around us. They didn’t open the church but had everyone on the bus. Now you opening Christmas village to spread the virus then you going to come and tell us what, you have to close the church again. the devil is a liar,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo don’t go on the Bayfront. I don’t care who organizes it and if all you go on the Bayfront before all you come back here go and get a test. And if all you disobey what I am saying to you and you go on the Bayfront and then have to go for a test I want them to charge you twice for the test. doh go on the Bayfront leave their Bayfront for them,\u201d the senior pastor added.<\/p>\n

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Video of displays being taken down<\/p>\n