Dear Editor,
Tremendous public concern has been raised about a decision taken by the Riverstown/Annandale Neighbourhood Demo-cratic Council to grant permission to a businessman to operate a snackette from a vehicle on wheels on a daily basis by the roadside south of the Suddie car park bus shed.
With questions mounting as to how this could have been possible, a call is now being made for the Ministry of Local Government to intervene and for the decision to be rescinded forthwith as the council is very unprincipled by blowing hot and cold simultaneously.
Just recently, council members in the presence of a policeman were engaged in removing scores of vendors from the roadside nearest the market, requiring them to vend inside the fenced compound area where plenty space is available.
Such a move was seen as a way to regularize the use of spots at the market square which continues to be in a state of disarray because of the lack of proper administration.
It is sheer nonsense for the council to remove vendors from one roadside and then create an opening for the same thing to happen in a similar manner. This clearly shows that something is seriously wrong with the administration whose responsibility it is to ensure that such anomalies are avoided.
The council needs to be resolute and maintain a stance that what goes for one must apply to all, having regard to the fact that justice must not only be done, but must appear to be done.
Some measure of principle is needed and it would always be better for the council to do what is right in keeping within the ambit of its operations rather than provide explanations for malpractices which can be avoided.
A dangerous situation is also evident from the stationary position of the snackette vehicle which obscures the view of incoming traffic from Supenaam. This could cause accidents providing an additional reason for the snackette to be removed for public safety – the earlier the better.
Yours faithfully,
Ramesh Sookram
