Dear Editor,
IT would be difficult to find a citizen of Georgetown who is not nauseated and repelled by the photograph in the newspapers recently of the Town Clerk of Georgetown constables pouncing upon and removing over 30 hapless vendors who have been plying their trade on Alexander Street. I say to the ëKingí and his constables, just as Bayard Rustin once said, ìIf we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence.î If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.

Why do they not remove the vendors at the corners of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, obliquely opposite City Hall, who are selling rat poison and other pesticides? The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) of Guyana has said numerous times that the sale of pesticides and other toxic chemicals from roadside vendors is dangerous to health and against the law. Indeed, the law requires vendors to be certified before they sell. These vendors are not certified. It seems as though the folks at City Hall are completely unconcerned that according to the World Health Organization, 44.2 in every 100,000 Guyanese commit suicide every year ñ compared to the global average of 16. And the epidemic affects young and old with children as young as 10 killing themselves, with the most common method being through the use of poison, generally involving pesticides or rat poison.

Why donít they stop the vendors around the Bourda and other markets from selling chicken, especially after hours? The Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01, City Market -By- Laws states that: ìIt shall not be lawful for any person to bring without permission of the Council uncooked fresh meat into the market. Also, no person shall sell or offer for sale in any market fresh meat, except at a stall set aside and appropriated for that purposeî. So why is the city turning a blind eye to the selling of poultry meat outside the markets?

But aside from these two egregious examples, one just has to look at the pavements of Regent, Robb, Water, King, Wellington, America Streets, etc, and one will see them chockfull with vendors. Are they not as illegal as the ones they are removing from Alexander Street? Are they not interfering with traffic as well and blocking entrances? What about the mobile fish caravan (King Fish) that is illegally occupying a spot at the corners of Regent and King Streets? Should they not be removed?
Come on City Hall. ìWhat’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.î

Regards
Modi Sankar