THE ‘objectionable structures’ belonging to vendors who were granted concessions during the holiday season to conduct business in the central commercial areas were last evening removed by the enforcement authorities. Officers from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were roped in to assist those from the City Constabulary Department of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown.

The ‘cleaning and clearing up’ exercise began in the vicinity of KFC on Water Street and was scheduled to end up at Church Street in the area of Guyana Stores Limited. It was supposed to have been taken next to Regent Street.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed by Deputy City Engineer Mr. Lloyd Alleyne, who was present on the scene last night, that the City Constabulary Department sounded a warning early yesterday to vendors along those areas.

Nevertheless, some vendors who did not heed this call ended up panicking as the officers turned up last night to confiscate their belongings.

Persons could have been seen scattering and hustling to get their belongings to ‘safety’ in their bid to avoid the officers. Some of the vendors were successful at this while others lost their belongings to the officers.

There were varying reactions to the move by the City Constable as some expressed the view that this will severely hamper their business activities and that those in authority were not concerned with poor people.

Others however could have been heard shouting that the vendors were forewarned hence the Council was “right” to take this course of action.

The exercise was scheduled to begin at 18:00 hours but got off to a late start.

About 40 minutes elapsed with the officers considering whether or not to carry out the exercise, as the main actor was not there. However, just about this time, a representative of the City Constabulary Department, Assistant Superintendent Daley, turned up and the exercise began.

Mr. Alleyne explained to this newspaper that though officers from his department were present and ready to start the exercise, they were not “authorised” to do so as instructions to remove structures should come strictly from the City Constabulary Department.

Vendors who choose to return to the area to continue business, even after the Council would have removed their structures and pieces of derelict, will be charged and placed before the Courts, Chief Constable George told the Chronicle last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer at M&CC Mr. Royston King, said Tuesday that the exercise was undertaken mainly to facilitate citizens having easy access to facilities such as the pavements and thoroughfares.

According to King, it has been a practice for the M&CC to remove these structures if the vendors fail to do so after their concession period would have ended.

During the recent holiday season, the Chief Constable told this newspaper that an effort was made by the City Constabulary Department to provide proper space on the roadways for shoppers.

She said this included “removing stubborn people” who vend illegally along the pavements.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Mr. Kellawan Lall recently alluded to the problem surrounding itinerant vendors at the official opening ceremony of the New Vendors Mall on Water Street.

He observed that in many parts of the City, school children have to mix with traffic because itinerant vendors are blocking the streets and pavements.

“Though it’s true that many are being allowed to vend in various parts of the city, it must not be done disorderly,” he said.

He requested Mayor Hamilton Green, who was present, to make sure that the pavement along the new mall is kept free of such vendors. “Why would we want to go into these hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and then find another set of people coming here?” he lamented.

He further charged the City Council to take a decision as to how many people could be accommodated to do vending in the city.

“It cannot go on unendingly. We should not always say it’s a complex issue. At some point in time, we have to say we cannot accommodate more people,” the Minister noted.

He advised that the Mayor introduce a motion to change the By Law of the capital so as to ensure that no vending is done along the pavement of the new mall.