City backpedals on halting Merriman Mall vending

Just days after announcing plans to end vending along a strip of the Merriman Mall, Town Clerk Royston King yesterday said that vendors would be allowed to resume selling in two weeks, with the conditions that their operations are clean and environmentally-friendly.

King’s announcement came in light of recent protest action by the vendors, following a move by the city to end vending activities in the strip between Orange Walk and Cummings Street.

“We are trying to keep a balance between people and their livelihoods along with a clean healthy and safe city. This is all what it is about and we are seeking your cooperation to achieve this mission and goal,” King told representatives of the vendors during a meeting at City Hall yesterday, while warning of harsh penalties for those who fail to comply.

Vendors selling along the Merriman Mall stretch between Light and Cummings streets. (Keno George photo)
Vendors selling along the Merriman Mall stretch between Light and Cummings streets. (Keno George photo)

During the meeting, the vendors’ representatives assured the city council that they would be working to ensure that all requirements are met when they return to vend.

Two months ago, the city council asked the vendors to move east and operate at what was once the “skating rink” to facilitate the creation of a car park to ease congestion in the city. On Tuesday, the municipality announced that it had temporarily suspended vending operations along that strip and issued vendors a one-week deadline to get themselves in order. It had said that the suspension was as a direct result of the Council’s observation that the area is very untidy, which is inconsistent with its vision to make Georgetown clean and green.

However, King yesterday announced that they could resume vending on January 20. He said the report carried by Stabroek News on the halt of vending along the strip was true and correct but added that what he didn’t mention was that the city would permanently bring a halt to vending for vendors who were not environmentally-friendly and complying with the regulations in place to ensure the development of a green city.

Vendors Picketing outside of the Office of President on Vlissengen Road. (David Papannah photo)
Vendors Picketing outside of the Office of President on Vlissengen Road. (David Papannah photo)

King declared that when vendors return to the location, they would be plying their trade under new rules and regulations. He said the city council would be moving to demonstrate the standards it is looking for. Towards this end, the council would develop the stalls using its own design—the new stalls will be collapsible—and install waste receptacles. It will also be organising and monitoring the vending to ensure it is in keeping with regulations, he added.

“We will draw a line so nobody goes on to our green parapets on either sides. There will be a fence in that area and trucks would not be permitted to park there any longer,” he said.

“We will take at least two weeks to put all these things in place, so when we return you to do business it will be a different surrounding. [These] arrangements could allow the city, in general, and the people that live in that area, in particular, to benefit from a more organised business avenue,” he further said.

Prior to the end of the meeting, vendors called on the Mayor and City Council to be more proactive in communicating with them in the future so

Vendors meeting with Town Clerk Royston and a city market official at City Hall yesterday (Thandeka Percival photo)
Vendors meeting with Town Clerk Royston and a city market official at City Hall yesterday (Thandeka Percival photo)

there would be better understanding.

On Tuesday, King had said the city wanted to give back the area to young people as part of council’s mandate to provide vital municipal services and facilities, inclusive of recreational space. When vendors turned up to sell the next day, they found themselves barred from the site, with barricades manned by city police in place.

Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green said then that he was not aware of any plans to permanently end vending at the site. He, however, noted that the vendors did not comply with the regulations requiring a uniform and environment-friendly setting and he said that was main reason why they were barred from selling on the block.

“We told them that stalls should be uniform—same height, same size—they should have space for themselves and customers to move around and we suggested they move more to the east for tidiness. We also asked that they have a standard colour and size and that they have bins placed next to their stalls and at the end of their business day, they ensure that the area was clean and tidy,” he said.

After being blocked from entering the Merriman Mall strip, angry vendors had marched to the Ministry of the Presidency and called on President David Granger to intervene. The disgruntled vendors stood outside the complex for approximately two hours but got no response. A group of agitated vendors returned and staged a picketing exercise yesterday.

Responsibilities

In a response yesterday evening, the Ministry of the Presidency said President Granger has said that vendors must be provided with suitable spaces to operate but the city Council must also be able to enforce the city’s by-laws.

The statement said the president was asked about the situation by NCN journalist Onicka Jones during a recording of the television show, “The Public Interest.”

“The City Council has responsibilities. It has by-laws and regulations. I have been advised that the Town Clerk actually had meetings with the vendors. Warnings were actually given months ago,” he was quoted as saying.

Granger further said that it was understood that a change in location can affect their livelihoods and the City Council must put arrangements in place to ensure that those displaced are given accommodation at appropriate locations to ply their trade. “…There is a large vending population in Georgetown and we must accept that. Some people prefer to buy from vendors, but vendors must conform to the laws. They must not leave debris and rubbish [scattered on the ground] and they must not go into prohibited areas. The City Council must provide areas for them and they must abide by the municipality regulations,” he added.

Meanwhile, activist Mark Benschop, who has been seeking to advocate for the vendors, said he was pleased with the city’s decision to allow the vendors to return to the Merriman Mall. He also expressed hope that the Town Clerk would stick to his word and not repeat what he had done to vendors who had been previously selling along Bourda Street, in front of the site of the former Bedford Methodist which has since been demolished. King has been accused of not keeping a promise to allow vendors to return to the site post-demolition.

Benschop said that the city council seems to be visionless in its approach to putting systems in place to running the city. He called on the council to sit and sort out the plans for the city before implementing them. He pointed out that the council should have notified vendors before moving them.

After the meeting yesterday vendors went to what they thought was a temporary site to sell, but city constables informed them they were to be accommodated between Light and Cummings streets. “You see, City Hall, no proper communication… one moment they said we can sell here and the next city constable telling we we can’t sell. We just came from a meeting and we agreed to sell here,” a vendor said.