Georgetown: Fishermen, fish vendors and business owners who operate from the Meadow Bank wharf, in Georgetown, are calling for better security measures to be put in place at the facility.
This was the main concern raised by those present at the wharf on Tuesday morning with Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during a visit to the facility to meet with fishermen and others who operate from the area. During the visit, several fishermen and business owners told the Minister that there were a number of issues affecting them, the most burning being lack of proper security.
Krishna Jettoo, Managing Director of Del Ice Co, said that a better management system needs to be put in place at the wharf.
“Security is the biggest issue we have. Secondly, the wharf is falling apart and everybody is doing as they choose to do. Nobody operates by rules and regulations. There’s no management here. We had a meeting last week concerning the same issue. I’m actually the only one who spends money to fix the wharf. Nobody pays anything and it has become a free for all. It doesn’t work that way. They come concerning issues of maritime fees for boats but nobody pays anything because the Co-op is not functioning,” Mr. Jetto said.
Redman (only name given) a fisherman, said that he was the main bread winner for his family and that there needs to be better prices for fishermen’s catch. He too spoke out about the lack of proper security at the wharf.
“This out here is my living. I’m a father of four. I got alotta family and friends working here. When the fishermen them go to sea, working so hard fuh bring in them lil fish, we get next to nothing for the fish. When ya sell the fish now sometimes you gotta be careful. The security system in bad. People coming and rob ya. We need a camera system so that ya could pick up something. A proper security system. We need better price and thing for we fish. This area where we mend the nets. The roof is leaking, is best you mend it in the sun,” the fisherman said.
Ravin Singh, a fish vendor also spoke about the lack of water at the facility.
“For years now we ain’t getting no water on the wharf to do nothing properly. They come round and collecting a $500 a day, we does pay. I does sell also out here and the same issue with the robbery and thing,” Mr. Singh said.
Renita Joseph, who operates a seafood retail store at the wharf, said that there needs to be a capable body in place to address the issues faced by those operating out of the wharf.
“We need a functioning Co-op; we need a body to handle our issues. We only see the Chairman when there is a meeting so I’m asking. I spoken to him and he asked me to give him two weeks. That’s last year. We just want a capable body so they can look into all the problems because we can list them. Everybody can come and list their problems and if we have that body they can look into things like security, every aspect of it. We do have police presence here but let me give you this instance, there was a guy selling illegal stuff in a car and I told a guy who was here and has a security company. I told him we can’t even call the police because we don’t know who to trust. He said he would deal with it. He called two persons, they came and I don’t know what happened. The next morning, the same guy who was selling the stuff came on the wharf finding out about us because the police told him that we made a report and that they collected thirty thirty thousand dollars from him. He was also making threats to my family. The other day I was robbed and people are seeing these things but are afraid to go to the police,” Ms. Joseph said.
Chairman of the Greater Georgetown Fishermen’s Co-op, Mohamed Khan, also known as Teach, said that there is a police presence but there appears to be some amount of collusion between the police and those committing the robberies.
“The police are here every single day. They only come here to collect fees from certain people. If you go to Ruimveldt Police Station and report matters, the next ten minutes the bandits know,” Mr. Khan said.
Mr. Khan also said that the issue regarding access water was due to the facility not having access to its own water source. He explained that, in the past, water was supplied through a private well but after the owner sold his business, that convenience ended.
Lydia Basdeo, another fish vendor who operates from the wharf, said that the fishermen and the Co-op need to work together to maintain order at the facility.
“Security here is two-way. People saying Mr. Khan is not doing his duty but the fishermen or the boat owners also not doing their duty. They were supposed to be paying to use the wharf. Nothing of that sort happens here and everybody doing as they like. Even the people them that clean the fish; if you go and tell them “if you clean the fish and throw the guts there, worms are going to come up” they abuse you. It reach a stage where you cannot say anything here,” Ms. Basdeo said.
After listening to the concerns of those in attendance, Minister Mustapha said that it was evident that there needs to be improvements to the services provided at the facility and that he will try to have some repairs done at the wharf.
“Before we collect money from anyone we have to provide a service so we will try to see what we can do from our level. The most burning issues based on what was said, are security, the state of the building and the water. I can’t make a full commitment that we’ll do all the repairs right away but I’ll review our work programme and see what can be done. I’ve also instructed the Chief Fisheries Officer to meet with the Co-op and the fishermen to see how soon we can deal with all these issues. I’ll try to see what renovation works we can do to this building. These repairs cost a lot of money and only recently we had the National Budget read so I’ll see from my Ministry what resources we’ll have to try and enhance the structure. We also have to look at the cost to maintain this building. It has to be cost effective. If the services are being provided, then we have to ensure those benefiting pay a small fee to maintain these services but we first have to get the facility back in order,” Minister Mustapha said.
Minister Mustapha also said that due to the COVID19 pandemic, exports to certain countries were halted, which resulted in a glut of fish and other seafood items on the market. This, he said, in turn influenced the prices of fish. The Minister went on to say that, with export markets slowly reopening, fishermen can expect better prices for their catch as the year progresses.
The subject Minister also assured the fishermen and business owners that he would engage his colleague ministers who are responsible for security and water, Honourable Roberson Benn and Honourable Collin Croal respectively, to have systems put in place to improve security and provide water at the facility. Minister Mustapha also said that his Ministry will be working with both the fishermen and the Co-op to resolve all other existing issues faced and that a committee will be established, headed by the Chief Fisheries Officer and comprising representatives from the Co-op and the fishermen to resolve issues that may arise in the future.
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