Understanding the urgent need to temporarily relocate for enhancement

Aug 09, 2015 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Unofficial estimates indicate that some 70 percent of the vendors retailing and wholesaling greens, ground provisions, coconuts, bottled beverages and even wild meat and fish on the dilapidated Stabroek Market wharf are women.  They and every other vendor, will shortly be relocated to the nearby area curiously called Donkey City, and to the much more secure and stable Stabroek Stelling nearby.  Both of these locations have been properly surveyed and corrective works will be completed before the vendors are shifted.
The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown, which is responsible for maintenance and repairs of all markets in the city, has given the assurance repeatedly that the relocation of vendors is a temporary arrangement, for an estimated six weeks, to allow for the wharf to be completely reconstructed.  M&CC’s Engineers are collaborating with civil engineers in the Ministry of Public Infrastructure for the exercise that has been separated into four phases.  Already they have drawn up blueprints for the new wharf, which will eventually be supported by new piles and platforms constructed from Guyana’s own hard woods.  It will have new stalls, offices and reinforced roofing.
In addition, a new structure will replace the rickety slips which are used to receive goods from farmers who transport their produce up and down the Demerara River to sell to vendors.  Some members of the public also interact with the farmers in their boats, purchasing vegetables, fruits and fish at very low prices.  These riverain farmers will be accommodated closer to the former stelling for the duration of the demolition and the rebuilding of a completely new and more accommodating structure.
We understand completely the vendors’ initial reluctance to shift from their accustomed location. They have expressed some reservation that their customers may not follow them to their temporary relocations, which they fear could cost them a percentage of their accustomed daily revenue intake.  But it is well documented that customers do not easily relinquish or walk away from service/goods providers who have always faithfully provided reliable service and good produce.
In times past, vendors who used to occupy Donkey City had complained that tourists and local customers had been reluctant to enter that area.  As a result they had deserted the location and set up shop on the roadway in front of the Stabroek Market.  This resulted in a long period of uncontrolled encumbrance and heavy littering of the market’s surroundings on Water St., including the car park and the pavements on both sides of the roadway just north of the market.
In no construct would this be deemed acceptable, but vendors insisted that they made more sales there in spite of the efforts of the City Constabulary to impose some measure of order and ease the flow of vehicular traffic.
This aspect is also included in the city council’s overarching plan to beautify the city and return the Stabroek Market and its environs to a clean, visitor-friendly heritage site which is listed on travel brochures and websites all around the world as a must-see.
With technical assistance from the Public Infrastructure Ministry, they are seeking solutions that will benefit the vendors, shoppers, drivers and members of the public who must pass by this area to access transportation at the nearby bus parks or to patronize adjacent restaurants.
Public Works Minister, David Patterson, is deeply invested in this expansive project, the first stage of which is to restore the beauty and functionality of the Stabroek Market.  He said, “People will understand (the need to temporarily relocate) and I think we keep underestimating the cooperation and the will of our people to improve their livelihood.”
The Stabroek Market wharf had been showing signs of deterioration for some years, but the M&CC was in no financial position to effect the repairs.  Countless appeals were made to the previous government to supply the funding and some technical assistance for the rehabilitation of the entire wharf, but to no avail. On several occasions, heavy winds had damaged the roof over the vending area and a section of the wharf had collapsed in 2013 injuring a well-known market handyman.  Then on 21st March 2015, a stall was destroyed when a section of the roof came crashing down.
Even after these incidents, the intrepid vendors chose to remain on the dilapidated wharf, but now, when the repairs are complete, they will be able to ply their trade in a safe and secure environment.
The Minister also spoke about the emerging plan to repair the entire Stabroek Market. He referred to it as a unique structure and noted that though it may cost less to build a new market, “we have to maintain our history and our heritage as it was handed down to us”. The plan is to repair the heritage structure and retain as much as possible of its original architecture.
The Stabroek Market was originally designed by an American Architect, Nathaniel McKay, and was constructed of iron, steel and some wood by the Edgemoor Iron Company of Delaware, USA in 1880-1881. Though the architectural style is somewhat elusive, the iron structure and the prominent clock tower are reminiscent of the Victorian era of Great Britain.  The market building originally covered an area of approximately 80,000 square feet but over the years it expanded to include the wharf, the stelling, and more recently the Stabroek Bazaar.
The Stabroek market area is easily the busiest such place in the city, always bustling with people and activity.  It is a central hub for taxis and minibuses that ply the East Bank, West Bank and West Coast Demerara corridors. It is generally believed to be the largest market location in Guyana, where a multitude of sellers make a living dealing in jewellery, clothing, fabric, dry and perishable goods, household artifacts and personal trinkets.  It houses a popular fish market and meat section as well.  In times past, it was most recognizable by its clock tower.  The clock stopped working sometime in the 1990’s and the Council’s efforts to repair it were unsuccessful.

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