SOME vendors who have been relocated from the Stabroek Market wharf on Sunday began construction of their stalls at the new location, the Stabroek Market Square.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle at the site, the vendors estimate that the construction is expected to take between three to four days to complete.

On November 7, the first set of vendors began signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Mayor and City Council (MCC) outlining the terms that cleared the way for them to build.

Those on site noted their relief to finally be able to begin construction and start the process of relocating. Though the Stabroek Market wharf has been closed to vendors for some time now, some vendors who sell perishable items have remained vending there.
“It’s a relief to be out here finally,” said 57-year-old Raymond Alphonso, who vends a variety of products including fruits and vegetables. He is looking forward to closing up shop at the wharf.

“After persons heard that the wharf was so dangerous they stop coming, so it’s been hard,” he noted.

The Stabroek Market wharf has been in a severely dilapidated condition for some years now and was labelled a danger zone, both for the vendors and other citizens. In September the MCC issued a disclaimer noting that they had instructed the vendors to remove and ordered others not to venture on to the wharf.

Realising that they could not simply remove the vendors from the wharf without providing an alternative for them, the MCC earlier this year agreed to develop a section of the Stabroek Market Square to relocate the vendors. However, after expending some $23 million to upgrade the area, the project was stalled, with City Hall claiming that it did not have anymore money.

The vendors then asked to build the stalls themselves.

At an extraordinary meeting in September, the council voted to permit the vendors to construct their own stalls and the MCC would charge the vendors rent for the spaces they occupy.

The MoU indicated that their stalls at the market square are temporary ones and they will have to dismantle them and return to the wharf, once the wharf has been repaired and is fit and proper for business.

At the extraordinary meeting, it was noted that while the vendors would build their own stalls, they would be expected to adhere to building the stalls to a standard dimension of 8 feet x 10 feet and a maximum height of 13 feet.

However, vendors on Sunday noted that they were allocated spots of 8 feet x 5 feet, which is inadequate for some of them.

“It feels good moving but to me the spot is too small. The original thing was supposed to be 10 feet x 8 feet, but even if they cut it down, it should’ve been like a 6 feet x 8 feet because this is too small. I wish if they could’ve give me a double, I would’ve feel comfortable,” commented fruit vendor Nandranie Budram.