June 30 is the deadline for the Grove/Diamond vendors to begin utilising the market tarmac built at a cost of $24.5 million by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.
This was one of the decisions made last Friday when Minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker met vendors and councillors of the Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), to agree on specific timelines to put in place services at the Grove/Diamond market tarmac.
A release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that at the meeting the vendors raised concerns that they said must be addressed before they could move from vending on the roadside to the market tarmac.
Some vendors wanted to erect permanent structures on the tarmac, but the minister said that could not be permitted because, “… the tarmac is for multi-use, we want young people to be able to play organised games, and the church may wish to use it from time to time.”
The concerns raised about security will be addressed by the NDC which will fence the tarmac and provide an area to secure the stalls.
On the issue of vehicle parking, Whittaker said the ministry will work with the NDC to seek space nearby.
By the end of March, a management committee for the market will be established and the market stall size re-marked on the tarmac since the decision was taken to increase the stall size from 6 x 8 ft to 10 x 8 ft. This would reduce the original 500 spaces to about 300.
GINA said Whittaker explained that those vendors, who would have already paid for the use of 6×8 stalls, will have pay more as they are now getting bigger stalls.
The ministry is hoping to accommodate as many of the vendors as possible, so vendors requesting more than one stall would have to wait until all the vendors moving to the tarmac are accommodated.
This month end is also the deadline for the NDC to identify signatories and open a separate bank account for the funds acquired from the market tarmac. Whittaker explained that the market will operate as a separate entity and the NDC will have evidence to show that the market is viable, GINA added.
