“Punishment will bring out the worst in people”

Feb 18, 2017 News

– Vendor tells Mayor, Town Clerk

“Is this a monarchy or what?” asked Conway Douglas, a vendor representing his colleagues at yesterday’s public forum held by the Mayor and City Council in the compound of City Hall.

Conway Douglas (in black t-shirt) making a point as Town Clerk Royston King (standing at left) and Mayor Patricia Chase- Green (sitting in foreground) listen.

Pouring cold water on Town Clerk Royston King’s opening speech about camaraderie and the need for vendors and council members to work together, Douglas exclaimed, “We are not friends.”
His contention is that the Mayor and City Council did not exercise any care for the people of Georgetown, when the infamous parking meter contract was being signed.
“You talk about democracy. This is a democratic country, but up to now, after there were two bodies established to represent the vendors, one of which, I happen to be a member, we have never been given a hearing with the council, so that we can have this back and forth conversation that you speak about, but don’t practice.”
Douglas continued, “Had you (the Town Clerk and City Council) considered going that way, I promise you, that this fix that y’all in right now – hanging y’all bellies over ‘plimpler’ with this parking meter – would never have never been.”
The vendor’s representative warned the Town Clerk and Mayor Patricia Chase-Green that small decisions have the power to wreak havoc in small countries. As in the case of the controversial parking meter project, Douglas said, “We have to stand up. If we lay down now, we will not have a proper, conducive environment for our children to live. We are poor people; consider

A section of the public forum gathering at City Hall yesterday.

us when you make these decisions.”
Douglas, supported by his colleagues with loud cheers, delved into some of the issues affecting vendors. He told King that City Hall has been quite unfair to small vendors plying their trade in the markets and on the streets, while large entities are allowed to continue paying small fees to operate their businesses.
“We started off at $500, then within a short space of time, it went to $1000, and then it went up fuh Christmas (another $500), and never came back down.”
He continued, “The people who own these big properties pay $1,000 and $2,000…these measly figures and we, the vendors, you look at it as $1,500, but many times, we don’t have it. Sometimes we have to beg for some milk and some sugar and we are serious about these issues.”
Some of the other vendors, who have been selling in Georgetown for decades, also complained of poor security, unbearable sanitation, and the unfair confiscation of their goods by City Constables, among other issues.
As the complaints continue, the Mayor and Town Clerk promised to look into the plight of the vendors, but did not address their concerns about the parking meter project. (Rehana Ahamad)

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