As traders who have operated for decades along the Merriman Mall continue to complain about the recent changes at the site, City Hall continues to claim it is unaware of the issues affecting them.
Over the last month Stabroek News has reported that several of the vendors who operate along the Merriman Mall between Cummings Street and Orange Walk are dissatisfied with the size of the space they have been allocated as well as the lack of the promised facilities for which they have been asked to pay an increased fee.
New stalls, approximately six feet by eight feet, constructed by the city at the site have been dubbed “horse stables” by the vendors.
“The small space that [Town Clerk] Royston King gave us cannot work… we don’t have a washroom, we don’t have pipes,” vendor Melissa Roberts lamented. This is the second time the council has claimed ignorance on the issues facing these vendors. In March, a press release from City Hall stated that the vendors were “happy” to pay a 500% increase on the $300 daily fee they previously paid.
In the release, King was quoted as saying that the vendors understand “the significant upgrade” the facility has received, as well as the added amenities they now have access to. “The vendors were quite happy to pay the fees given the improvements we made them aware of. As far as we (Council) know, no one has registered any concern or complained about the matter. They did try to negotiate with us but after we explained things to them, they understood,” he added.
Nevertheless, vendors have publicly complained that the new $1,500 per day fee was too much. A meeting was subsequently held between city administrators and the vendors, after which the fee was lowered to $1,000.
According to the vendors, no attempts were made to address their other concerns and none of the promised facilities have materialised. “We here in this cramped space and anytime anything go over that yellow line there they seize it and you gotta pay at least $5,000 to get it back,” Roberts told Stabroek News. The fruit and vegetable vendor was recently embroiled in a dispute with the city over a seized box of pineapples.
“They come and say de pine over de line and they seize it. I running up and down for two days trying to get it back. They tell me I got to pay $5,000. Look at this tray, de pine was under the tray. If the tray wasn’t over the line, how the pine could be over the line?” she asked.
“Is sheer frustration out here now,” said Roberts, who has spent 30 years vending on the Mall. “But I ain’t giving up, I’m going to keep fighting. They going to get fed up of me before I get fed up of them,” she added.
However, there are others who have already given up. One vendor, who asked not to be named, has already stopped operating in the area because the location she “picked” was too far from the entrance to be profitable.
“I can’t make money from so far back. People entering from Orange Walk alone and by the time they reach me dey finish shopping. It’s just not profitable,” she said.
Luckily for her, she also has a location on Robb Street where she is able to ply her trade.
