– Minister Lall
THE move by Government to relocate stallholders vending outside Albouystown Market is “not to take bread out of people’s mouth” but make way for development in the country, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Kellawan Lall said Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference in his ministry’s boardroom, at Fort Street, Kingston, Georgetown, he said the La Penitence area is congested, particularly on Sundays when the road is, practically, taken over and traffic has to be diverted through Albouystown.

The decision to modernise the area and remove the stalls was met with great apprehension by the stallholders who, subsequently, opted to stage a protest outside Office of the President.

A meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister Lall and other officials, however, calmed the situation and the project saw much more mutual cooperation.

As a result, Clerk of Markets, Mr. Schulder Griffith reported, last Tuesday, that 16 stalls from outside were already relocated to facilitate the first phase of the removal to allow for widening the bridge on Saffon Street.

According to Minister Lall, a tarmac is still to be constructed to accommodate most, if not all, the stallholders outside the market.

“Some of the imperatives of the nation have changed. If we want to bring in tourists, we will have to try to keep the place clean and do things in an orderly manner,” he reminded, adding: “We have to change our culture even though people say that vending outside the market has been going on for years.”

Lall declared: “We have to move on, providing alternatives for people to make a living. The city is changing rapidly and we also have to change.”