Dear Editor,
PLEASE refer to a letter which appeared in the Thursday, May 17, 2018 of your dailies, Captioned: M&CC needs to decide on its priorities.

Amber Valentine is quite right about a global food crisis in 2015. However, she is very wrong on the situation relating to wholesalers and retailers at our Bourda Market facility.
In fact, the writer seems to want to paint a picture that gives the impression that the Council is preventing farmers and wholesalers from plying their trade; this is far from the truth. The City Council continues to make the point that it has a responsibility and a duty to work in the interest of all vendors, whether wholesalers, middlemen, retailers and even storeowners whose business are contiguous to our local market facility. In relation to the situation on Robb Street, I wish to make the following points:

1. The City Mayor and Town Clerk have been receiving numerous complaints from retailers and legitimate stallholders who operate in the Bourda Green about the unfair treatment meted out to them by some wholesalers.

2. Retailers and stallholders claims we found to be true; some wholesalers were extending their act beyond the three hours allotted to do business and in fact, they were competing with retailers and undercutting them. This has led to the impoverishment of many of the retailers and legitimate stall holders.

The Mayor and Town Clerk visited the market and spoke with both groups with a view of arriving at a compromise to allow all those who are plying their trade to make a livelihood. Unfortunately, the situation persisted and the Town Clerk was forced to take action to ensure that wholesalers, middlemen, retailers and storeowners were allotted time to do their business.

In addition, the Mayor of Georgetown, members of the Market/Public Health Committee and the administration met with the wholesalers and retailers on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at City Hall and discussed the matter thoroughly, taking into account all circumstances involved and the need to move forward and improve profitability for those who sell in and around the Bourda Market.

After much discussions and deliberations, the vendors agreed on the following:

A) Wholesalers would do business on Robb Street between Alexander and Bourda Street from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm from Monday to Friday.
B) Retailers will ply their trade in the same area from 5:00 pm to 7:00 am the next morning.

C) All vendors who use that area to do business should have a proper refuse receptacle to dispose of their waste in an environmentally friendly manner.

D) Each vendor should take responsibility for the cleanliness of the area in which they operate.

E) To form a Market sub-committee to address the concerns of the wholesalers, middlemen, retailers and storeowners.
Regards
Debra Lewis
Public Relations Officer
Mayor and City Council
City of Georgetown