…to allow for vending
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday assured residents of Plaisance on the East Coast of Demerara that the Government will be financing the paving of a section of the reserve on the sides of the Railway Embankment to enable them to sell.
The tender, he hopes, will be invited in a matter of weeks and the works will begin thereafter.
He was speaking during a tour of the village during which he interacted with residents, mostly women, in his usual friendly manner, putting them at ease. The President has promised to return to the area in a matter of weeks when the works would have commenced.
“This started as a small project which came to Cabinet but I thought it was limited so I came out here this afternoon with the ministers to look at a more expansive project for the area. This is one of the older markets on the East Coast and it is very important. I am very happy with the accommodating attitude that everyone showed,” he said.
He noted that the people want to continue selling and he thought that in a society like Guyana’s “we have to allow people to make a living, even if they have to sell by the roadside.” But he said they have to do so in a tasteful way and an orderly way. “This is all that we ask,” the President said.
President Jagdeo also asked the residents to ensure that the structures that they build on the paved roadside are neat and tasteful.
During the tour, Mr. Jagdeo told residents that some of the main drainage canals will be cleaned to facilitate effective drainage when the sides of the road would have been paved to allow for vending. He also said that, at a later stage, the authorities will look at the inside of the market to see what rehabilitative works could be done.
One of the residents who escorted the President around the village, told Mr. Jagdeo she felt satisfied, “that you came to our village and gave upliftment.”
“We had a very good meeting here and the people are very accommodating. As I said before, the works would be done and they would be allowed to sell. They have to recognise that the reserves are there for a purpose,” the President told reporters after the meeting.

Accompanying the President on the tour were Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Mr. Robeson Benn, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Mr. Kellawan Lall, Finance Secretary Mr. Neermal Rekha and staff of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Works.