By Alva Solomon

AT 10:00hrs today, an estimated 130 Stabroek Market vendors will officially commence their relocation to the Old Royal Castle site opposite the Linden bus park in the city, under a temporary contractual arrangement expected to last three months.This announcement was made yesterday despite the vendors’ continued protestation against the relocation from the environs of the Stabroek Market; however, City Hall maintains that no one will be allowed to vend at the market’s environs.

Yesterday, moves were under way to finalise the tarmac at the Old Royal Castle site for today’s relocation and occupation by the vendors. The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) noted in a release that the announcement came following a meeting between Mayor, Patricia Chase-Green, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan and Town Clerk Royston King, along with the vendors on the relocation process. The meeting took place in the City Hall compound.
According to City Hall, the relocating vendors will proceed to the Clerk of Markets office aback the Stabroek Market at 10:00hrs today and will be registered and provided with stall numbers. The vendors will sign a contract which will stipulate them agreeing to occupy the new plot of land located by the council for three months. The contract will also include a removal clause, since their occupation of the site is temporary.
According to City Hall, King stated that resurfacing of the site, provision of washrooms and waste compactors, installation of lights and the provision of security have already been completed. King noted that the council is in the process of procuring 150 tents to house the vendors at the property south of Parliament Building.
“However, by tomorrow around 1:30, vendors could be able to occupy the land once they register with the market authorities”, City Hall said. In addition, the vendors will continue to pay $1000 for clean-up services.
The market’s periphery is usually littered with food vendors and according to City Hall, those vendors will be permitted to vend from 19:00hrs to 05:00hrs; however, food vendors will not be allowed to erect “elaborate facilities,” including tables and chairs. This the council noted, will lead to licensing issues where the vending of certain items is concerned.
In addition, persons who sell under the Stabroek Market canopy will be provided with additional information regarding the upgrade of their stalls since, according to the council, those vendors will now have to follow a particular design for their stalls. This design will dictate the size, colour scheme and height of the facility.
Mayor Chase-Green urged vendors to view the relocation move from another angle, noting the Council’s agenda which is to clean and beautify the city while setting an organized structure for those involved in street trading.
Mayor Chase-Green noted that the council takes responsibility for the expanded vending situation and admitted that over the years, vending went out of control. “We take responsibility for losing control over the vending situation,” she said.
City Hall called on persons who own stalls within the market to return to those locations and the council noted that in excess of 40 vendors were identified as legal stallholders operating on the streets. They were warned that should they continue to use the stalls for storage purposes, they will be repossessed.
Yesterday, vending activities in the area appeared calm as vendors noted the relocation process has taken a toll on their ability to make daily earnings. Over at the new vending site, Town Clerk Royston King was busy overlooking preparations for today’s vending activities.
According to City Hall, an estimated 300 vendors are affected by the relocation exercise. It is unclear what plans the municipality has in store for the vendors at the end of July, when the temporary relocation period will conclude.
Meanwhile, the opposition, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has criticised the relocation exercise. The PPP deemed the matter “the brutal displacement of vendors and the wanton destruction of their stalls in Georgetown.”
According to the PPP, the reasons provided by the administrators of the capital city regarding clean-up activities for this year’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, “as the justification to remove the vendors is unpardonable and must be rejected by all fair-minded Guyanese.” The PPP said that the process was undertaken without consultation with the vendors.