Charity vendors were up in arms on Thursday when they turned up for a meeting scheduled for 10 am with officials from the Local Government and Public Works ministries and no officials showed up.
The meeting was to deal with the vendors’ refusal to move to the tarmac which was built aback of the Xenon Hotel and opposite the Pomeroon oil mill. This tarmac, which is 249 ft in length and 104 ft in width cost $21million, was constructed to house all the vendors who sell along the road.
Neighbourhood Democratic Council Chairman Kenneth Persaud tried to placate the angry vendors, telling them that another meeting would be planned. The vendors subsequently proposed that the influx of vendors arriving for market day every Monday should use the new facility.
When asked what action would be taken if the vendors refused to move, the NDC chairman said the relevant authorities would bulldoze the stalls. He also added that some daily vendors had stalls in the market and they were renting them out and still going and selling on the road. He said the vendors who had stalls in the market should move back to the market so as to make things easier.
One vendor who travelled all the way from Parika said, “Who is going to pay my passage to be here every time you people have meeting?”
One vendor told Stabroek News that at the last meeting the vendors had elected and formed a vendors’ committee of seven persons to represent the vendors that vend in the different sections. The Regional Democractic Council also formed a three-person committee, but only one of these members was present on Thursday.
Some of these vendors say that the tarmac doesn’t have the proper facilities – there is one sanitary block and one part is for males and one part for females. This facility has to serve over 500 persons, and one vendor said, “that don`t make sense.”
Another vendor said that there was only one exit and entrance to the tarmac. She added that “only one person at a time can enter or exit.”
Another vendor said that there wasn`t enough parking space. “There is no proper security, no lights, the place isn’t fenced and there is a lot of drugs dealers at the back there,” she added.
Another vendor said the tarmac couldn’t hold all the vendors, going on to say that when the rain fell the place would have puddles of water. He also said that shoppers would not get to shop freely because the place would be too clustered.
Another vendor who sells everyday said that she was a single parent and “these people are making things hard for us. How can they ask us to move there? That place is not proper; the environment has a lot of theft.” She added, “We are willing to make uniform stalls and even turn them to face one another if they allow us to stay here at the old tarmac that we are occupying right now.”
She also commented that on Saturday last the garbage men had to pick up the garbage with their bare hands. When contacted the NDC overseer said that the workers had the materials to work but they misplaced them. She said the NDC would provide the necessary materials to the workers in this month’s budget. She also told Stabroek News that the garbage collector wanted an increase of $100,000 a month and that the council couldn’t afford this “so its all about money.”
Monday is a big market day at Charity when persons from all areas, even as far as Georgetown, go there to sell. The regular everyday vendors are proposing that the Monday sellers can occupy the tarmac because after selling they will pack up and leave.
On Mondays, Charity market day, there are some 260 vendors selling. On the other days there are 140 vendors and another 34 vendors along the river dam.
Meanwhile, raising other issues, one resident said the street on the right hand side of the NDC office that leads to the
