Store owners peeved at high fees to vend on pavements

Dec 21, 2015 News

– say ‘illegal’ vendors paying a pittance

Several store owners on Regent Street are complaining of paying heavy sanitation fees to vend on the pavements for the Christmas season, while “illegal” vendors are asked to pay less.
When the Kaieteur News visited the commercial hub this weekend, store owners griped bitterly about having to pay out $2500 daily to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council for vending on the pavements, while itinerant vendors are being asked to pay a small fee of $1000 per week.
“This is unfair to us because these people are vending illegally and they are being asked to pay less while we suffer the brunt of the fees. The other thing is that they [Council workers] come early in the morning to collect the money and business does pick up until later in the day,” one businessman said.
He questioned whether the collection of the fees was lawful and why the itinerant vendors were not being asked to move their products, since they were selling there “illegally”.

Vending on Regent Street

“I can’t understand how one time they against the people vending there illegally and now they endorsing the illegality by collecting the money from them to continue selling. It is already unfair that we have to compete with them selling in front of our stores, that we are paying taxes for, but to allow them to pay a smaller fee than us, that is ridiculous!”
One businesswoman stated that she already has to pay extra staff and since business was slow this season, it was hard on her to find that sanitation fee every day to give to the Council.
“Early in the morning they coming and stretching their hand for the money and we have to give them because they told us if we don’t want to pay then we should pack our goods and go,” she cried. She said it was unjust for herself and other businesspersons to be paying such a high fee when the ‘illegal’ vendors are required to pay less.
Sellers, who were considered as the “illegal vendors,” stated that they are happy that they do not have to pay high fees to vend on the pavement.
“Our business is already small and we are just here to hustle a small piece for the holidays so the thousand dollar is a blessing for us,” one vendor, Denise Bradshaw said.
Another vendor indicated that the usual yearly fee was $500 per day and she was shocked by the decrease. “So we glad for this cut,” he said.
Several other vendors, however, stated that they were not asked to pay any money to the Council.
Kaieteur News tried several times to contact Town Clerk Royston King for a comment on the issue but all proved futile. Yesterday Mayor Hamilton Green, when contacted for a comment also, stated that the matter was an issue for King. However, he did indicate that the ‘squatting’ vendors were “itinerants” while the store owners were permanent.