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Bourda vendors unwilling to pay increase until market is rehabilitated
Some of the vendors in discussion yesterday
Although some vendors are prepared to pay the recently imposed increase for the rental of their stalls, close to 100 of them operating at the Bourda Market are not willing to do so, and have signalled their intent to confront the matter “head on”, even with legal action.
According to the vendors, they are reluctant to pay the increase as the municipality has failed to fulfil a promise it made some four years ago to rehabilitate the market which is currently in an unacceptable state.
At a meeting hosted in the Butchers’ lane of the market yesterday, they complained about the conditions they are made to endure, including the horrible stench which emanates from almost every corner of the facility as a result of the activities of drug addicts and homeless persons.
They disclosed that when it rains they suffer the most because the rain seeps through the roof of the market which has been neglected for a number of years. As a result they are forced to cover themselves and their merchandise with tarpaulins, umbrellas and other means to continue plying their trade on a rainy day.
And while rehabilitative works have commenced on numerous occasions, the vendors said that they are still waiting for the completion of a single project.
Yesterday’s meeting was also intended to be the forum at which the vendors would form a Vendors’ Association Committee, aimed at addressing their interests as it relates to the market.
According to the vendors, they have been informed that the council requires of them to pay the increase by this month end, thus they have taken action to guard against the imposition.
They related to this newspaper that they have already secured the services of a lawyer who yesterday sent a letter on their behalf, to the Mayor and City Council informing the Mayor and Town Clerk, that they do not intend to pay until measures are put in place to rehabilitate the facility.
The vendors indicated that the letter requires that a response be forthcoming from the municipality by tomorrow, and reinforced the notion that they will not pay until satisfactory action is taken.
Clerk of Market, Schulder Griffith, in an invited comment last evening, disclosed that the officials of the municipality are aware that the vendors have some reservations as it relates to the increase of the stall fees. As such he noted that the vendors have since been advised that a meeting will be held tomorrow at City Hall where they will be able to raise their concerns.
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