Some Stabroek Market vendors reacted in anger yesterday afternoon when government officials, who were accompanied my members of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) during a tour of the area, proposed the relocation of vendors who vend directly in front of the market gates on the northern side of Water Street.
Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall accompanied by Public Works Minister Robeson Benn as well as Deputy Mayor Robert Williams and other officials of the municipality, toured sections of the Stabroek Market area around the busy 4 o’clock hour.
Benn and Lall questioned the location of the vendors who ply their trade directly in front of the market gates, stating that this should not have been allowed by the City. Lall also pointed out that there have been reports of vendors selling their stalls to other persons without the knowledge of the municipality and also asked what City Hall has been doing to address the issue.
Williams stated that the municipality has received reports of transactions as regards the latter, noting that only yesterday the municipality was dealing with one such case.
At this point the presence of the officials drew the attention of vendors and members of the public, who openly questioned the reasoning behind the proposal to have them relocated.
The vendors stated that they had been selling at the location for years and questioned why the officials only realized yesterday that they, the vendors, were not supposed to be at their current location. Some vendors stated that they had families to maintained and stated that the government officials as well as those from the M&CC should attend to more important issues, such as the current garbage build-up located close to the route 41 minibus park, some noting that they had been paying the required taxes to vend in the area. They said the authorities should work towards finding a solution to the garbage issue as soon as possible, since some persons have been complaining about health-related effects that the heaps of garbage in the immediate vicinity of the market had on their health.
Minister Benn stated yesterday that the M&CC needs to put its house in order and do its business better when questioned on whether the administration will intervene in the matter.
Stabroek News was informed that a solution is still to be reached for the garbage problem as City Hall is still unable to garner the sums of monies owed to its garbage contractors. The municipality was working to have the matter settled by yesterday as the department encouraged citizens to adopt temporary measures to dispose of their garbage.
The team of officials yesterday afternoon covered that section of Water Street located in front of the Stabroek Market before proceeding to a location behind the Route 32 minibus park, which is being proposed as a site for vendors to be relocated to.
The Market has to be run in a orderly manner benfitting shoppers. There was a problem in Swan Street in Bridgetown, Barbados where vendors were setting up their stands, tables,etc willy nilly \ even blocking doors of buisness houses who are paying taxes. Some of these vendors do not pay taxes. They have no vendors licenses. There are health dimensions here.Every person wants the most prominent place with the highest volume of passersby bu you cannot have that way by doing what you feel like doing. There has to order and an equitable sysem for all.sytem
Of course, the big hue and cry rom the vendors was that the store owners were trying to stop “the poor black man” from making a living. It did not wash with Barbadian authoritise and they had to move much to the satisfaction of the shoppers in general..
Reddy, you seem unable or it is entrenched in your mind set to race bate. we all know that barbados is predominantly black so, you had no need to mention mention “the poor black man”. like you forgot that your talking point is for guyana where you based everything on black and white.
Mr. Brown, thanks for the reply but this is regular talk (about “poor black man” )in the press here. I didn’t mean to bring any race divsiiveness into it. I could ahve said “Poor, struggling vendor” and I am sorry to be insenstive in this case…Peace…
Again 17 years later and gees who knows how long but the area around stabroek market has not changed.
The government or some private investor should look at modernizing the market keeping the facade intact but building the market up and out onto the water, it would be an awesome opportunity to create something special there if they had the proper architects to design some kind of a shopping mall / market environment similar to St. Lawrence Market in Toronto.
They have to accomodate these people and put them into a proper market area there. It would also simultaneously stimulate growth, create jobs and probably reduce crime in that area.
Get these layabouts off the streets there. This market should be returned to how it once looked when the British were in control.After 1964 this place became a proliteriat pig sty.
Agreed they should keep the facade elevate the area where the buses used to be so people cannot drive there and put proper stalls on carts like they have in the malls across north america and in some caribbean islands but make it a neat tourist attraction kinda place with street performers etc.
Similar to the wharf in key west.
Guyana has so much potential it really is a shame to see the PPP squander these opportunities. Disappointing after 17 years there has been very little changes that really drive growth, tourism and elevate guyana from a step above Haiti as my boy justin defreitas claims.
Driving around that bend you need a buldozer and flatbed trucks. To clear the way of the junk traffic snailpacing the street.
Reddy I must agreed with you on this one.