With the deadline approaching for the vendors plying their trade at Lombard and Hadfield streets, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is still working to find a permanent location for them.
Mayor Patricia Chase-Green told Stabroek News that the M&CC is currently looking at possible locations to house the vendors after the deadline. She did not indicate any of the possible locations being considered in the short term. Although, an earlier plan floated was adding a floor to the current vendor’s bazaar at the Stabroek Market.
Apart from that, Chase-Green explained that the M&CC is still negotiating with the owner of the land to grant an extension, though she said those negations, to date, are not in the favour of the council.
After a massive cleanup at Stabroek Square, vendors were barred from selling there and were subsequently placed at their current location in May. This arrangement was to last for three months and comes to a close early next month.
City Hall had earlier been considering the former Guyana National Cooperative Bank building as a location where the vendors could have been housed. However, it was learned that the building has been sold.
Meanwhile, Chase-Green said the Market and Public Health Committee is currently drafting a policy to address vending in the city.
