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City commissions New Vendors’ Mall
“I am absolutely sure that the President would have liked me to state very emphatically that that the government owes not a single cent to the City Council. We have already paid up our taxes for the third quarter and we intend to pay our taxes when they are due for the fourth quarter.”
Minister Kellawan Lall and City Mayor Hamilton Green (right) assist this lass with the symbolic opening of the New Vendors’ Mall.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall, offered these comments when he responded to City Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday.
Mayor Green had earlier urged Minister Lall to persuade the Minister of Finance, Ashni Singh, to make available the next tranche of taxes owed by Government for last quarter of 2009.
Both public officials vocalised their comments at a simple ceremony held to mark the official commissioning of the New Vendors’ Mall located at Water Street, Georgetown.
Mayor Green underscored that the commissioning was geared at advancing what has been a rather complex, social, and economic problem for many years.
He said that when he first took office in 1994 he recognised that the vending issue is not a simple “move them out, charge them rent, lick them down matter” but is rather a phenomenon that should be understood and dealt with.
“Over the years we have tried many things…I remember we tried to copy things that are done in other parts of the world. We acquired in 2003 at a cost of $300M, a plot of land owned by Toolsie Persaud, an initiative of the President Bharrat Jagdeo who had looked into the situation.”
Green, as a result, asked of the gathering at the commissioning to stand and offer a round of applause to the crucial intervention by the President.
Prior to the introduction of the Mall, Green recounted that Toolsie Persaud had proposed a nine-storey edifice for which piles were already sunken thus rendering that plan obsolete.
“I want the Minister to ensure that he conveys to the president our gratitude and to tell him how much we regret his absence here…to share with us further initiatives…”
Vendors, according to Minister Kellawan Lall, must take possession of the facility not just by occupying stalls but also by maintaining an environment that is conducive for shopping.
He added that some people have a fixed idea of who is a vendor, stressing that sometimes it is very negative. “Some people are of the belief that a vendor is a person who is very aggressive and very noisy but I think the vendors in this mall can behave in such a way to make a difference…
“You have an opportunity to change that taboo you are not here just to make a dollar but to provide a service in a manner in which customers can be satisfied.”
The original vendors’ mall, according to Clerk of Markets, Schulder Griffith, consisted of structures that were poorly built with old zinc sheets and plywood. This coupled with the fact that proper preparation of the land was not done also resulted in poor drainage among other problems.”
Griffith noted that some vendors opted to give up their stalls while others returned to the pavement leaving just about 30 percent occupancy at the site. But it was in preparation for Cricket World Cup in 2007, a group of prominent citizens started the Downtown Enhancement Committee chaired by Mr Chris Fernandes in collaboration with representatives from the council who worked tirelessly on a plan aimed at enhancing the new vendors’ mall.
But as the need for enhancement of the stall became more evident the council through its public health and markets committee, chaired by Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, mandated that new designs for the stalls be created. It was after several consultations with the new Vendors’ Mall Committee, a new design was derived which was ably put to plan by the Engineers’ Department.
“The new design as you see here displays large stalls and wider passages which allows for more customer friendly shopping, less congestion and a display of a wider variety of goods and service. These include the provision of grocery stalls, salons and barber shop, internet cafes, haberdashery, boutiques, cafeterias, variety stalls and soon to open a printing service and pharmacy.”
Griffith added that the Mall, which accommodates 184 stallholders, now sports a common eating area where shoppers can relax in comfort. Construction of all stalls he said were undertaken by vendors themselves, a feat, which according to reports, may have cost about $100M.
The construction process was done under the guidance of the City Engineer’s Department and was monitored and supervised by Deputy Clerk of Markets, Mr Errol Brisport.
Brisport, according to Griffith, will also be tasked with bringing to fruition similar transformations to the Stelling View Market and the Bourda Green.
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