By Shuntel Glasgow
Vendors who plied their trade around Demico House, Stabroek and outside the Discount Store, Regent Street were removed yesterday by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development following two court orders.
Town Clerk Candace Nelson, who led the exercise, told Stabroek News that the council was acting on the court orders and as a result the vendors were removed from both locations. Makeshift stalls, pallets, freezers and tables were removed from around Demico House. Workers attached to the M&CC removed excess garbage from the area.
Vendors had received letters from the M&CC that demanded their removal early in April. However, Mayor of Georgetown Alfred Mentore explained that the vendors were given up to 30th April to be removed from the area based on the court order. The vendors were also notified about the deadline.
The Discount Store was granted a mandamus by the High Court to have the vendors removed.
Two popular shoe vendors who plied their trade in front of the Discount Store, Regent Street were also removed by the M&CC. The location was known for selling school shoes and the vendors, who operated there for years, were usually overwhelmed with customers during the back-to-school season. The tables and pallets used for vending were removed from the area.
A popular fast-food spot located on the Wellington Street side of the building was also uprooted. The makeshift stall sold food to many workers and there was usually a long line of people waiting to purchase food and drinks daily. The makeshift stall consisted of many pallets placed across the drain, along with a tent. Some people dined there, while others would take away their meals. The exercise was conducted in the absence of the vendors but it was guided by a high police presence.
The removal of pallets, makeshift stalls and tables revealed a buildup of garbage inside the drains and around the area. The council will now be able to access the drains to facilitate proper cleaning and desilting.
Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George ordered the Mandamus at the High Court on April 10th. According to the court order, the company whose office is situated at Lot 102 Regent Street and Wellington Street, Lacytown, Georgetown, requested that the pallets, tables and stalls that encumbered the pavement and streets situated around the property be removed.
According to Mentore, the agreement was for the Stabroek Bazaar to be restored yesterday so that vendors could return to the area to ply their trade earliest while permanent solutions would be explored. The Local Government Ministry supplied additional trucks and labour to help with the restoration of the Stabroek Bazaar.
Mentore said that the collaborative effort’s main agenda was to target the bazaar to have a level of normalcy prevail, while the Demico House and Discount Store were slated for the new week.
“The advice that was given to me by the Town Clerk [was] that she was getting the Ministry of Local Government to assist in dealing with clearing up of the bazaar to restore it,… but then it turn out that they remove the people from the Discount Store who had to be removed anyway,” he said.
“This blind-sided action by the Town Clerk in collaboration with the Minister of Local Government to clear this area by the 30th without notice is concerning especially when the whole council knew that the help was for the Bazaar not the Demico House.”
Vendors who plied their trade at the Stabroek Bazaar were unable to operate for almost two weeks since the Stabroek Wharf collapsed on April 17th. They were told by the M&CC that the area had to be cleared to facilitate the removal of the rubble. Vendors on Monday expressed frustration over the prolonged process and as a result were told by representatives of the M&CC that vending will not resume until further notice.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Banks DIH Clifford Reis had stated at the 68th Annual Shareholders Meeting in February that the corporation had made several efforts to have vendors operating around the premises removed. Reis had claimed that the amenities at Demico House were being misused and the company was losing money.
