The Region Two Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has defused a conflict between a Charity businessman and several vendors he blocked from plying their trade on the Charity Market waterfront.
RDC Chairman Devanand Ramdatt told Stabroek News that the businessman, Alfro Alphonso had instructed his security personnel to move the vendors’ stalls, which were at the waterfront. Efforts by Stabroek News yesterday to contact Alphonso for comment proved futile.
“They went and moved who were there and even threw away some of the stalls and placed barricades around the place where they would usually ply their trade,” Ramdatt explained, while stating that the RDC condemned the actions of the businessman.
“You have to ensure what you do is right and you have to make the relevant requests to the authority. There’s the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Sea Defence Board,” Ramdatt said.
He said that even if the businessman was granted permission to secure any portion of the area, which he said were reserve lands where the vendors would sell on Mondays only, he had to make sure he followed the laws and due process.
“It’s only on Mondays they vend and we know the economy is struggling. They don’t have permission to sell there but all they do is come out with their produce. They don’t have any fixed structures that would be permanently blocking anything but it’s the way they [businessman] went about doing it that was wrong,” he said.
However, Ramdatt explained that while the businessman had pointed out that he had a “huge investment” at the waterfront, it was related to him that he was not authorised to remove any of the vendors from the area.
A meeting was subsequently convened between the vendors, representatives from the businessman and the RDC, where they came to an agreement. He said the vendors agreed that they would not block the businessman from entering the area.
“They [vendors] have agreed that the entrance will be cleared and they are willing to comply. They indicated that they will clear the access way that the businessman was asking for,” he said.
