VENDORS operating on the shoulders of the Essequibo Coast main road are angry with officials of the Charity Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) over the decision to remove them from there and have not provided an alternative location.

Interaction with the sellers plying their trade there, on Saturday, informed the Guyana Chronicle that the seemingly fiery battle between them and the local authority has been ongoing for several years, with the group vehemently refusing to back down.
Some who have been vending for between five and ten years said their rage reached boiling point over a ‘Notice of Violation’ they received from the NDC last Thursday, ordering them to move from the spot within a week.
Several of the notices shown to this newspaper bore a Public Works Ministry letterhead and a Georgetown address, warning that, among other restraints, they would not be allowed to erect structures without permission from the relative Ministry.
The mostly females protested loudly, claiming that they are paying monies every Monday to officials of the Charity NDC to ply their trade in the area. While some said they pay $300 weekly, others said they were asked to pay $1,200, $2,000 and $3,000, depending on the size of their stalls and items being sold.
Not afforded
It was alleged that some vendors are permitted, by NDC functionaries, to build structures while others were not afforded that facility.
Yet more lamented that, for years, the NDC has been trying to remove them but has made no attempt to provide an alternative location for them to sell their merchandise which range from fruits, vegetables and ground provisions to kitchen supplies.
The complainants said they are planning to stage a major protest in the near future if the situation does not improve.
They said, last Thursday, many of them visited the NDC Office but were treated quite rudely by a man who claimed to be a representative of the Ministry of Public Works in Georgetown.
They said, on receiving the marching orders from that official, they enquired where they will be relocated and were rudely told that they just have to move.
They said they are more than ready to be placed somewhere else but not until they are provided with a new area to sell. Many pointed out that their present occupation is their only means of livelihood and can foresee starvation for their families if they are not allowed to vend or not properly relocated.