–to meet with vendors on way forward

By Shirley Thomas
TEMPERS flared yesterday when, without warning, Town Clerk, Royston King and his security officers descended on fruit and greens vendors plying their trade along Robb Street, between Alexander and Bourda Streets, and announced that “as of now” they would have to cease vending there, until further notice.

He did not say why, nor did he say what he meant by ‘until further notice’, but according to vendors, the order was delivered around 09:30hrs, following which constabulary ranks quickly cordoned off the area with steel barriers, thereby signalling that it was now off limits to them.

The deed having been done, with the expectation that the order will be complied with lest there be consequences, King and his team reportedly left without entertaining any questions or comments from the bemused vendors.

Those affected by the order usually ply their wares from 17:00 hrs until twilight on a daily basis, and have been doing so for years, bringing in assured and much needed revenue to the Council.
They travel from as far as Berbice, Parika, and agricultural villages along the East Coast to sell primarily fruits and vegetables in order to eke out a living.

WHAT NEXT
As one vendor observed, “So they stop we from selling, and that looks like forever. We have expenses like anyone else, so what are we to do? How are we to live?”

Reports are that when the Town Clerk arrived at the scene yesterday and gave the order, vendors had already begun paying up their fees, so many were able to show their receipts to the media for payments they’d made.

Now left to ponder their next move, some vendors who sell from their trucks have resorted to parking along Alexander Street to tray and see if they could catch their hand in the meantime. At least one man told of being accosted and charged for parking there. He was ordered to appear in Court on September 15. He was also able to produce a bill for the $11,000 he had already paid to Council for landing and vending fees.

Pushed to the limit, the irate vendors summoned the media and began openly making their concerns known. They also contacted the President of the Guyana Market Vendors Union, Eon Andrews.

Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan, now Acting Mayor in the absence of Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, visited the scene and expressed shock, stating that he was not informed about the move.

MIND-BOGGLING
Meanwhile, the vendors’ produce, which are all perishable, remained heaped on trucks in the sun throughout the day.
Vendors are at pains to understand why the Council would make such a decision to stop them from vending when they are the life blood of the Municipality’s revenue.

“It’s amazing the amount of money Council makes from the collection of vending and landing fees from us vendors,” one woman said, adding:
“Those of us vending in this area are all mature people and never give them trouble. What is all this ill-will and advantage about? Is it a vendetta they have against us?”

Said another, “They are treating us with gross disrespect, and we are calling for a stop to be put to this, because, after all, we are people’s husbands, wives and mothers, and even grandparents and so we demand to be treated with respect.”

NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS
City Hall has since issued a statement saying the reason it took the stand it did yesterday is because it has been in receipt of numerous complaints about the deplorable condition in which vendors leave the area at the end of the business day.

Said the City in its missive: “This morning at around 08:30hrs, the Town Clerk, the Chief Constable and a team of City officers visited a number of sections in the city to have a first-hand look at the situation around Municipal Market areas and other points where persons are operating businesses.”

Detailing what the team found during the course of their visit yesterday, City Hall said: “The situation at the corner of Robb and Alexander Streets, in front of ‘Mike’s Pharmacy’ was very ugly, with heaps of garbage almost at the entrance of that pharmacy, dumped there by wholesalers and retailers last evening. This is a serious problem, which requires urgent attention.”

Noting that vendors have been warned time and again about dumping their waste on the roadways or in front of legitimate businesses, City Hall said:

“They were advised by the Chief Constable and Revenue Collectors to deposit their waste in the receptacles provided for them on Orange Walk. However, they continue to dump the waste, particularly at nights, and leave with their winnings to return the next day to sell.”

It said that as a result of its findings, “the area between Alexander and Bourda Streets has been closed off to all vending activities, with immediate effect, to allow the area to be sanitised, and to facilitate a meeting between Council and the vendors operating there.”

The purpose of the meeting, City Hall said, “is to enforce compliance in the manner in which vendors dispose of their waste, and to encourage acceptance of their responsibility to keep that entire area clean and tidy at all times.”
It said, in closing, that what is being done is in the best interest of all parties.