Broken City Council promises irk Russell Square vendors

Feb 28, 2022 News

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…Mayor awaits Govt.’s response on Stabroek re-development project

By Tassia Dickenson

Kaieteur News – It has been about three years now since vendors who use to ply their trade at the Stabroek Market Wharf were placed at Russell Square which is situated opposite the Guyana Fire Service headquarters, adjacent to the Stabroek Market.

The placement of over 60 vendors at the square was as a result of the “dangerously dilapidated” state of the wharf.
The vendors were placed there with a promise of “a soon return” but that plan seems to have been stalled leaving them with little hope of returning to their previous place of business. Kaieteur News recently caught up with some of the vendors who expressed their concern about the prevailing state of affairs.
They related that since being located to the Square, they have seen a decline in sales, as people refuse to traverse through the narrow space where their stalls are situated to purchase items.
Frustrated over the situation, 72-year-old Harriram, who has been vending in the Stabroek area for over 45 years, spoke of the lengthy wait for the “promised” return to the wharf.
He acknowledged that during the time he was occupying his stall on the wharf, he made several complaints to the City Council about concerns including the leaky roof and the overall condition of the environment. He noted, nevertheless, that operating at the square has done “more damage than good” to his business.
Other affected individuals spoke of their losses. They too insisted that their plight is due to the fact that the area they were placed to ply their trade, temporarily, is pretty much “abandoned” thus customers rarely visit. Consequently, their businesses are mostly ignored by shoppers, save and except for a few loyal customers who continue to patronise them.

A 60-year-old vendor, who said he has been selling there with his wife for decades, chimed in, “They (the Council) told us when we relocated here that it was temporary until it (the wharf) was rebuilt, but they aren’t telling us nothing. I’d say if it can be done today, it would be better for us because people aren’t coming here (Russell Square) because of the conditions. People are not comfortable coming here to shop.”
Another vendor revealed that they had an agreement with the City Council to be returned to the wharf after a year. The vendor explained that after being placed at the Russell Square, the Council signed a contract with them to have them relocated to the wharf after it was fixed within a year. He noted that the Council is now in breach of that agreement.
Back in 2016, prior to the placement of the vendors at Russell Square, the then Town Clerk, Royston King, had made projections about a massive upgrade to the wharf, which was expected to commence during that year, at an estimated cost of $400 million.
Prior to that, a delegation from the City Council, including King and a team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, headed by former Minister David Patterson, held discussions about the dilapidated state of the wharf.
Empathising with the vendors, the Minister had committed to help the City Council correct the situation at the wharf. Senior officers of the Ministry were subsequently assigned to work with the Council to help salvage the wharf from further deterioration but the plan to salvage it never got underway. Consequently, the vendors are complaining about the broken promises of the City Council.
When contacted for an update on the issue, Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine told this publication that the Council still has plans for the rehabilitation of the wharf.
Narine noted, however, that he cannot give a definite answer at this time about the situation because the works will involve technical officers, as well as members of the City Market Committee, as well as the Public Health Committee.

According to Narine, with no immediate plan in place for the relocation of the vendors to the wharf, the vendors who were placed at Russell Square will have to remain there “until better can be done.”
He revealed too that the Council is awaiting word from the government on the re-development of the Stabroek Market area – a project that will see benefits to those in the city and the country as a whole.
Kaieteur News understands that the Stabroek Re-development Project will cater to the enhancement and modernisation of the Stabroek Market area as well as the country’s tourism industry.
“It will be a different face for the city, not only is its development for the city, but also for the people of this country,” Mayor Narine had promised. The project aims ultimately to remove vendors from the streets and place them in better facilities, so as to ensure improved standards for selling and producing goods.
The project, once implemented, will see enhancement efforts stretching from the old Guyana National Cooperative Bank (GNCB) at Cornhill Street all the way to the Vendors’ Mall (Vendors Arcade) located on Water Street.

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