The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will be moving to register street vendors next year, Mayor Patricia Chase-Green announced on Monday.
Chase-Green, speaking at the M&CC statutory meeting, said the move would be in accordance with the Municipal and District Councils Act, “where it says clearly how street vendors and market stallholder must operate.”
According to Chase-Green, all vendors who are selling on the streets and in front of schools between Agricola, on the East Bank of Demerara, and Cummings Lodge on the East Coast of Demerara, would be registered.
She pointed out that vendors would have to meet multiple criteria before they can be registered in the city. However, the criteria would not have to be met all at once. “The criteria will be set out and we will take it step by step,” she added.
Each vendor would be issued an identification card stating their name, the category under which they are vending and the location where they will be selling, she explained. “If you are registered to vend on Robb Street, you can’t go and vend on Water Street, it would not work like that,” the Mayor noted.
Over the years, the city has been trying to minimise street vending but it has been met with a number of challenges.
Chase-Green said the new approach not only seeks to regulate street vending but also ensure that health regulations are observed.
