Officers from the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) are expected to meet vendors today to finalise an agreement which will pave the way for the latter to start construction of their stalls as they prepare to relocate from the Stabroek Market wharf.
Acting Town Clerk Sharon Harry-Munroe yesterday told Stabroek News that the meeting will inform vendors of the terms and conditions of the agreement. At the conclusion of the meeting, she said vendors will be able to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Among the terms and conditions to which the vendors are expected to adhere is that the arrangement is temporary and that all structures built will be dismantled once they are allowed to return to the wharf. The council has also agreed to install lights and sanitary facilities at the site.
Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had indicated that vendors will only be able to proceed with the construction of their stalls after signing the MoU. The stalls will be constructed at a size of 13 feet in height, 10 feet in length and 8 feet in width at Russell Square, the area identified by the M&CC to house the vendors.
Vendors have been lamenting the council’s laid-back approach in preparing the MoU, despite being knowledgeable of the risks vendors are taking to remain on the collapsing wharf.
At an emergency statutory meeting two weeks ago, city councillors voted to allow vendors who are to be relocated from the Stabroek Market wharf to construct stalls at their own cost.
A rough estimate provided by City Engineer Colvern Venture pegged the cost to construct the stalls at $400,000.
The council moved to evict vendors from the hazardous environment in which they were vending after the roof began collapsing. Vendors had been required to cease operations on September 14th after a cease and desist notice was served due to the perilous state of the wharf.
On September 14th, under the directions of Town Clerk Royston King, workers from the City Engineer’s Department and the Occupational Health and Safety Department had three entrances to the wharf cordoned off. King had emphasised that the moves taken were to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the stallholders.
However, this did not sit well with vendors as they protested the actions. Many had said it was unfair for the council to restrict access to the wharf, when they failed to provide and prepare an alternative area for the vendors to ply their trade.
The vendors noted that since the barricades to the three entrances were erected, business has declined tremendously. The wharf has been slowly deteriorating over the years but despite the collapse of sections of the roof, vendors have continued to ply their trade there.
