– City Engineer issues cease order

A ‘cease order’ has been issued by City Engineer Colvern Venture, dated August 23, 2018 and hence vendors at the Stabroek Market Wharf are expected to remove from the area within 14 days.

Town Clerk Royston King has said that he is unsure the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will be able to relocate all 99 vendors to one location.

“We will be relocating in phases but I am afraid we might have to ask all the vendors to vacate the wharf and those who will not be relocated early will have to wait on us until we find a place for them,” King told reporters on Monday following the statutory meeting at City Hall.

The intention is to be able to relocate as many vendors as possible, King noted, and vendors have already been told that they will not be able to have the same amount of space that they are accustomed to currently.

“It is in a ruinous condition; it is a calamity waiting to happen,” King expressed about the state of the wharf at the moment. So far, he said he has not heard anything from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the agency undertaking the repair works.
Another section of the derelict roof at Stabroek Market collapsed again earlier this month, threatening the lives and limbs of vendors; some of whom were present when the incident occurred.

Two weeks ago, Venture provided a graphic demonstration of the dire state of the Stabroek Market Wharf and called for the immediate removal of the vendors there. But City Councillors nevertheless voted by majority to give the sellers more time to remain there.
Venture was not the only one who called for immediate evacuation, as Town Clerk Royston King and a number of councillors pleaded with Mayor Patricia Chase-Green to have the area cleared right away.

An area west of the Public Buildings has been identified to house the vendors who are affected by the situation at the wharf, but it has not yet been prepared by the City Council for persons to occupy.

Venture, by means of a PowerPoint presentation, showed councillors pictures of the wharf in an effort to underscore the gravity of the situation there following the recent collapse of another section of it.

The photos, some obtained with the aid of a drone, showed rotting beams and flimsy structures that could come down at any time. The photos also attest to the practice of speedboat operators tying their boats to the said dilapidated wharf while loading them with passengers.