Georgetown : The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has announced that the process to relocate street vendors displaced due to the Stabroek Market cleanup and reorganization will commence tomorrow. This is according to Town Clerk Royston King, who along with other Municipal heads that included Mayor Patricia Chase Green and her Deputy Sherod Duncan, updated a number of vendors on the situation this morning within City Hall’s compound.
The vendors will proceed aback the Stabroek Market and report to the Clerk of Markets at 10:00hours (10:00 a.m.) Saturday May 7. There they will be registered, provided with stall numbers and will have to sign a contract agreeing to occupy the new plot of land located by the Council for three months and then remove, since relocation there is on a temporary basis.
The Town Clerk said that the resurfacing of the land, provision of washrooms and waste compactors, installation of lights and the provision of security has already been completed. The City Administrator also noted that the Council is in the process of procuring 150 tents to house the vendors at the property south of Parliament Building. However, by tomorrow around 130 vendors could be able to occupy the land once they register with the market authorities. These persons will continue to pay $1000 for cleanup services.
The Town Clerk is adamant that no one will be allowed to return to the Stabroek Market or the other identified locations to conduct business.
Food vendors in certain areas around the market facility will be permitted to vend from 19:00hours to 05:00hours (7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.). They will not be allowed to erect elaborate facilities to include tables and chairs etc. since the Council is aware that these persons are not licensed to sell certain items. They are asked to visit the Council for more information.
Operators under the Stabroek Market canopy could also get additional information from the Municipality since they too will now have to follow a particular design for their stalls. This design will dictate the size, colour scheme and height of the facility.
Mayor Chase-Green urged vendors to see the upside of the Council’s agenda which is to clean and beautify the city while they seek to organize those involved in street trading.
The Mayor said the Council takes blame for the expanded vending situation and admitted that over the years vending went out of control. “We take responsibility for losing control over the vending situation,” she said. She blamed the past Council’s political predicaments and noted that the Municipalities, “foot soldiers” had not done justice in reporting the accurate situation on the ground.
She noted however that the vending situation could not be allowed to continue as it has been. The Mayor said it was found that persons were living on the paves, mattresses and beds had to be removed. Some were relieving themselves were they dwell, while others stored large amounts of goods on the paves. Certain locations harboured criminals and this was information provided by the vendors themselves, she noted.
Another call was also made for persons owning stalls within the market to return to those locations. More than 40 vendors were identified as legal stall holders operating on the streets. They were warned that should they continue to use the stalls for storage purposes it will be repossessed.
