THE Mayor, Mr. Hamilton Green, Chairman of the Public Health and Markets Committee, Mr. Ranwell Jordan and other councillors and officials of the City Council met with vendors of Kitty Market on Tuesday to discuss the future of the facility. Making the disclosure in a media release, the Public Relations Department, at City Hall, said the meeting was held in the Kitty Market and approximately 40 of the vending group attended.
The sellers were able to share their concerns about the dilapidated state of the edifice and how it is impacting their trade, among other issues.
The release indicated that the council is looking at options to sell the edifice, or enter into partnership with the Central Government, vendors or the Private Sector.
It said the vendors expressed the view that there is an urgent need for the Council to have an immediate audience with the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development on finding an alternative arrangement for them to continue plying their trade.
The release said, yesterday morning, Mayor Green met, again, with vendors and other officials to prepare the appropriate documents for dispatch to the minister.

Getting worse
Kitty Market is in serious disrepair and is getting worse on a daily basis, as is the issue of illegal roadside vendors in the City which affects everyone, the release stated.
It said many persons complain of the roadways and pavements in Georgetown being plagued by such vendors, making it impossible to walk, while business owners lament their fate because of positions taken up outside their stores.
Meanwhile, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Mr. Clinton Urling criticised what he called “the slothfulness” in the removal of illegal roadside vendors.
In an interview a few months ago, he emphasised that roadside selling is, indeed, an unlawful practice and he declared the GCCI support for the measures that the Government is putting in place to have the errant vendors moved, stating that their business constitutes a very pressing matter of commerce in Guyana and the steps should be implemented at a faster rate.

A nuisance
Several other persons, spoken to by the Guyana Chronicle, said, to have the Government relocate the vendors would be good as they are a nuisance to passersby along the pavements and streets.
Some charged that, although the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has indicated that rapid actions are being taken, none such is actually taking place.
Other interviewees are of the opinion that the removal should not be done only in Georgetown but countrywide.
It was remarked that, despite the establishment of tarmacs for traders to vend, the authorities have made no effort to have them use the facilities. What is worse is that, daily; the number of illegal roadside vendors is increasing.
Some of the vendors are claiming that no warning was given them and they have been selling at their present sites for many years without obstructing anyone and are willing to relocate but are finding it difficult, as they fear that, if they lose their preferred spot, it will cause them to lose customers and profits.   
While the City Council is considering the state of Kitty Market, those selling there are being dislocated and forced to go on the city pavements and roadsides, the latter complained.