City Council and the Vendors

The City’s Fathers and Mothers who made promises to vendors and residents of Georgetown are once again displaying a disconnect from existing realities.The treatment of the vendors post Local Government Elections has seen the Council moving them from one area to another absent any consultation and seeming regard for the impact, positive or negative, the decision would have. Representatives of the Council found it fitting, in what can be construed as talking down to the vendors rather than seeking way(s) to accommodate them, with an aim of finding common ground and arriving at consensus.

In spite of public outcries that the Council allow the vendors the right to be heard, it stuck to its position that it will not entertain further discussion on the matter, and its decision is final and binding. The resulting ill-feeling between the two groups has reached the point where some vendors having felt that their confidence was betrayed by councillors and there exists little, if any , regard for them have moved to establish a trade union to represent their affairs with the Council.

When council representatives were asked about the vendors forming a union, some of the comments were unpalatable and less than encouraging in improving relationship between the two groups.  In an environment of such nature it helps when relationship is tempered with facts, objectivity, and mutual respect.

There exist a view that in the first instance City Hall did not engage in proper assessment and development of a plan before the abrupt removal of the vendors around the Stabroek areas to what is dubbed ‘Parliament View.’ The new location it is learnt, from day one, was deprived of basic necessities such as potable water, toileting facilities, and protection from the weather. With Council being aware of the unpalatable condition, yet relocated vendors to the area, only to respond amidst outcries about the conditions that such is temporary, reflects an ad hoc approach to the entire affair.

Currently the Council is seeking to establish what it is calling a “flee market” to attract vendors to sell primarily clothing to satisfy the new school term and year. The Council has advised that this is to assist vendors occupying Parliament View who are not making a profit to sustain their business, and the flee market presents opportunity to do so, but none of the vendors turned up.

Enquiry reveals that the  targeted Parliament View vendors do not sell the items the Council thinks will be sold, which demonstrates that another project has been embarked upon absent the needed ground work, including consultation. The city’s affairs cannot be managed in an ad hoc manner, including the non-involvement of stakeholders.

With vendors now having a trade union of choice the Council may be well advised to proceed in matters impacting this stakeholder with their union. It would not help vendors/council relations to see the union as an enemy when the council stands more to gain through mutual respect. With engagement comes the exchange of ideas on how both groups can collaborate, not only in resolving areas of concerns/problems that exist between them, but also to address how systems can be developed and agreed upon for new areas that will and can be opened up for vending.

Being elected to public office carries expectation of not only adhering to laws and by-laws but also to temper these with what is just and fair. At the city level it may require revisiting by-laws not merely as deterrence in dealing with the city or making them more acceptable, but also with an eye that vendors and council can work together to keep the business of the town alive, and all attendant areas that impact on their well-being are being observed.

Street vending in Guyana is not an industry that attracts person leaving from one area and coming primarily to buy. The industry merely satisfies, on most occasions, someone who is passing by, may see something and like it, or may see something that is needed and was being forgotten. The service vendors provide is not one that is equivalent to a store or supermarket established in a fixed location or building. Treating with street vending also has to take cognisance of the culture of the industry and the role it plays in the delivery of goods and services to the society. More importantly decisions must factor in that this sector of our society enjoys its deserving place.

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