M&CC gives vendors two more weeks
A video presentation was made to help city councillors understand the gravity of the situation at the Stabroek Market Wharf
A video presentation was made to help city councillors understand the gravity of the situation at the Stabroek Market Wharf

– despite safety concerns about Stabroek Market wharf

EVEN though Chief Engineer Colvern Venture provided a graphic demonstration of the dire state of the Stabroek Market Wharf and called for the immediate removal of the vendors there, City Councillors on Monday voted by majority to give the sellers two weeks more to remain there.

But Venture was not the only one who called for immediate evacuation, as Town Clerk Royston King and a number of councillors pleaded with Mayor Patricia Chase-Green to have the area cleared right away.

The setting was the fortnightly statutory meeting at City Hall.

Town Clerk Royston King is concerned about the loss of life at the facility

But Chase-Green would not budge, as she explained that the City Council met with the vendors just recently and had promised to let them know what action will be taken. To send them a 24-hour notice to vacate the area would be out of the question, she reasoned.
The argument by King, however, was that the right to life must come before the vendors’ right to earn, a view supported by several councillors.

An area west of the Public Buildings has been identified to house the 99 vendors who are affected by the situation at the wharf, but it has not yet been prepared by the City Council for persons to occupy.

Venture, by means of a PowerPoint presentation, showed councillors pictures of the wharf in an effort to underscore the gravity of the situation there following the recent collapse of another section of it.

The photos, some obtained with the aid of a drone, showed rotting beams and flimsy structures that could come down at any time. The photos also attest to the practice of speedboat operators to tie their boats to the said dilapidated wharf while loading them with passengers.

Venture said his recommendation was for persons to be evacuated immediately, and that arrangements were being made to have this done within another week or so.
“I’m not sleeping at nights at all,” the town clerk said, while trying to persuade the council to act swiftly. He said it is the town clerk who could be sued or jailed in the event someone dies as a result of the existing situation at the wharf.

“This is a council facility, so we are responsible in full for what happens there,” he noted.
“Even as we speak, those vendors are in danger,” King said, adding that the decision to allow them to remain at the site since the last collapse was not a very responsible one on the part of the City Council.

King said he wrote to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to obtain a status report on the project, since it is that agency that will be repairing the wharf. Although he did not receive a response, he said he was informed by Venture that the ministry is likely to sign a contract with the contractor sometime next week for works to start.

The mayor observed that no one–including the vendors–wants to make any sacrifice as far as relocation is concerned. None of them, for instance, would be willing to cease vending for a few days to facilitate the relocation process, she said. They are only concerned about being provided a spot to do business; even the tailors and seamstresses, she noted.
Chase-Green called for caution signs to be erected, and for the entire area to be taped off so that any person vending or shopping there would do so at their own risk.

But the town clerk has advised that in the event a life is lost, the signs will not suffice in court to make a case for the City Council.

City Engineer Colvern Venture (standing) called for immediate action to be taken regarding the evacuation of vendors at the Stabroek wharf

Councillor Philip Smith questioned why the City Council was not already moving to tear down the dilapidated structures that are remaining on the wharf. “Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind. Should we wait for something to happen? Why are we waiting to take down the structures? I am really appalled that we still have activities in those areas.”
Smith called on the City Council to act decisively and to set a definite time by which the vendors should remove. “We have to be decisive. We’re protecting lives here.”

Councillor Welton Clarke offered that after viewing the photos from Venture, he wondered how it was that the City Council allowed the situation to reach that level. “The stain of our ineptitude will be long-lasting,” he said, in the event someone loses their life at the wharf.
“Lives are at stake. Instant action has to be taken. Procrastination is a waste of time,” Clarke urged.

After listening to several other councillors on the issue, Chase-Green took a vote which saw 13 councillors voting to give the vendors two more weeks there before complete removal; one voting against, and two in abstention.

As soon as Venture issues a ‘cease order,’ King will proceed to send written notices to the vendors informing them of their remaining time at the wharf.

Just recently, another section of the Stabroek Wharf collapsed, but no one was reported injured.

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