Sales and consumer traffic have decreased at the Giftland Mall as a result of the roadblocks erected for official activities at the nearby Arthur Chung Conference Centre preventing many customers from getting to the mall, according to Chairman of the Giftland Group Roy Beepat.
A number of roadblocks were erected along the Railway Embankment from the University of Guyana access road to Bel Air. Police officers were stationed at each roadblock and stopped every vehicle attempting to pass.
The roads are blocked to facilitate the ongoing CRIC17 conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
Beepat, in a letter to Stabroek News that was published yesterday, expressed his frustration with local authorities as he said that every time functions are held at the conference centre where foreign dignitaries are involved, the roads are closed, which brings business to a halt. In the letter, which was written on Monday, it was stated that “the entire mall is like a ghost town.”
When Stabroek News visited the mall yesterday, there were only a few cars in the parking lot and there were hardly any customers in the mall. The food court, which is usually packed between 11 am and 2 pm, had less than a dozen persons present.
“Sales were down about 80% yesterday for the supermarket and the Giftland stores. They’ve closed the roads so the minibuses can’t drive in, so it means that we’ve got no walk-in traffic and that’s 50% of the people that come—[they] come by minibus—so those aren’t allowed to come in and then they closed the western side and are telling people they have to drive around to get in the mall. What they’re really doing is they’re closing up my business for this week,” Beepat told this newspaper.
Beepat admitted that business is usually slow in January but noted that it had picked up because it is the end of the month. “Just by being there they are stopping people from coming in. I mean if they want to lock off in front the conference centre where they have people, that’s another story that could help,” he said.
An upset Beepat indicated that he was not consulted or contacted and told about the closure of the road and found out the night before the conference began. He added that in other countries when dignitaries are at functions they do not close the roads but offer better security at the venue.
“This is not the first time this is happening. Every time they have special dignitaries going to the conference centre, they close the road,” he added.
A sales associate at one of the boutiques within the mall, who asked not to be named, stated that business has been slow since the end of the Christmas season and doesn’t believe the roadblocks have affected her business. She stated that peak hours for the business are between 3 pm and 8 pm when persons leave work and school.
