THE Bartica Municipal Market and the Mayor and Town Council have come to the aid of vendors by waivering their vending fees for two months.
With the deadly coronavirus threatening the world, Bartica has instituted a curfew and ‘stay-home’ mandate. These have resulted in losses for vendors, since persons are not coming out to shop.

Recognising the strains that will be placed on these vendors to make ends meet in their homes, the council decided to intervene and lend a helping hand.
With over 150 vendors at the market, the waiver amounts to a $2M loss for the council. However, the Mayor, Gifford Marshall, said the well-being of the residents precedes that of financial benefits of the council.

“The effect of COVID-19 on the world is grappling and we have all been able to see how this disease has crippled the healthcare system and has the potential to cripple economies as well. My councillors and our administration, in an effort to ease the pressure within our business community, particularly our market facilities, took a decision to waive all vending fees for period of two months. This will allow some cushioning for our vendors as we all struggle to manage our affairs in the midst of this pandemic,” Marshall told the Guyana Chronicle.

He noted too that the move is a major sacrifice for the municipality but sacrifices have to be made to ensure that the people are able to cope with the crisis.
Vendors at the market are saddened by the financial stresses they now face, but in the same breath, are thankful for the kindness of the Mayor and Town Council.
Vashti Layne, who has a meat centre, said it has been really hard on her and family because of the significant decline in sales over the past weeks. While it is understandable why persons are staying away, she said a lot of people’s livelihood and survival are solely dependent on sales, and that cannot be ignored.

“Now we have the market closing early, the place is dead, only one and two people coming in the market, but we still have to continue to vend. We have expenses like light bill and so forth, and we are also buying to sell back, so we have to accumulate the money to pay our suppliers. Now that we are not getting normal sales, we’re not selling the amount to clear our overhead expenses, much less to carry on with other aspects of our lives,” Layne lamented.

However, she said that the gesture of the council is very beneficial, as it will lower her expenses.
“We are ever so thankful to the council for being lenient with us and understanding our plight at this time. Two months of not having to worry about finding rent is definitely an ease to our burden and we hope that this virus can get under control soon so that we can go back to our regular lives. I really don’t want this situation to worsen for anyone, because it is already hard as it is,” Layne stressed.
Other vendors echoed same sentiments and thanked the council for the kind gesture.