— but Market Committee dragging feet

THE Markets and Public Health Committee, which is expected to make important decisions regarding the Kitty Market, including coming up with a new fee structure, is holding up the partial opening of the market.

Guyana Chronicle understands that the delay in opening no longer has to do with funds, but authorities simply have to meet and make certain decisions regarding the way forward.
Assistant City Engineer, Rasheed Kellman told this publication in an interview, a few days ago, that the contractor has completed all of the external stalls on the ground floor and the two sanitary blocks.

At the moment, at least a partial opening of the market can be facilitated in that it is possible for the vendors who are temporarily plying their trade along Alexander Street to move into the market. The revenue collection and rates and taxes offices have also been completed.

“But the Markets and Public Health Committee has to meet. You cannot put people in a well-refurbished stall and allow them to pay the old fees. That has to be properly decided and the committee has to bring it to full council,” Public Relations Officer, Debra Lewis explained.

She noted that among the hiccups was the fact that the said committee chairman, Councillor Lionel Jaikarran, resigned recently. A new chairman is still to be picked.
Lewis said a meeting will be held on Monday and that she was sure the issue would come up for discussion.

Just recently, Mayor Patricia Chase-Green requested that Town Clerk Royston King accompany her on a site visit to the Kitty Market, which she had hoped would have been opened in time for Independence Day. She said she wanted to go on the ground to find out just what is happening there.

The M&CC has received in excess of 300 applications for vending, although the market can accommodate only 90 vendors.
The Ministry of Communities has partnered with the City Council to provide the funds needed for the completion of the market.

The upper flat of the market will house a health centre, a rates-and-taxes office, and office space for rental. The intention is to create a supermarket-like arrangement with new designs and modern facilities, and to make it ‘drive-through’ friendly.

The plan also is for some services at the market to be offered on a 24-hour basis.
The upper flat of the market, located on Alexander and Barr Streets and Shell Road, Kitty also now boasts an auditorium for community events.
The Kitty Market has missed countless deadlines for its re-opening, with City Hall citing a lack of funds as the reason for the delays.

A decentralisation of the Council’s work is expected when the market comes back on stream, as it will take into account the needs of communities between Cummings Lodge and Kitty.

“People from Cummings Lodge to Kitty don’t have to come all the way to City Hall to pay their rates and taxes. We are aiming to re-introduce the system that was in place many years ago,” Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had told the Chronicle.

The Kitty Market was established in 1882, two years after the Bourda Market had come into being. And like Bourda, the Kitty Market was also made of timber.

The 19the Century edifice had suffered massive deterioration over the years prior to its renovation, causing vendors operating in its environs to lodge numerous complaints with the City Council.