Vendors will enjoy more space when new Charity market is complete – Minister Persaud

Vendors at the meeting
Vendors at the meeting

Vendors whose livelihoods were disrupted when a fire engulfed part of the Charity market last July will soon return to a brand new structure which will have increased vending space.

This was announced by Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Anand Persaud, during a public meeting with the vendors at Charity on Wednesday.

According to Persaud, the new structure will span 152’ x 164’ and construction is expected to commence in January 2024 and be completed in two months.

An artist’s conception of what the new market will look like

Persaud disclosed that $286m was allocated for the new market’s construction and the contract was awarded to Builders Hardware and General Supplies Construction. Persaud explained that the project took some time to put together because Government had to allocate resources.

At the meeting, vendors raised concerns about near-term vending and security. The minister promised that both security measures and vending space will be provided for vendors. The vendors also asked that the bid documents for the design of the market structure be released.

“Many of us are still trying to start back after the fire, it’s hard ‘cause some of us depend on vending and have been doing this for years, a new market is needed. We welcome it but we hope we have better security and electrical work this time around to safeguard our business” one vendor said. Another vendor said that she anticipates that the new building will have better and comfortable amenities. Persaud then called on vendors to co-operate and be part of the construction process.

Region Two Chairperson, Vilma De Silva, said that she saw the design and was pleased with what she saw. She said that when the market is completed it will provide more space to vendors.

“This is a good initiative, and we at Charity are happy that it will transform the entire area and the vendors can look forward for better vending space,” Chairperson of the Charity NDC Chandrawattie Comal said.

Over 25 vendors were severely affected on July 6, 2023 by the fire which destroyed all of their goods. The fire, according to both the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Fire Service, was electrical in origin. It was reported that smoke was observed coming from an electrical meter and was quite possibly the source of the fire.