2 areas earmarked for relocation of Stabroek vendors

… present condition is “very bad” – Town Clerk

As the state of the Stabroek Market Wharf continues to worsen, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown has revealed that two city-owned locations have been identified for the relocation of those vendors who are under threat by the dilapidated structure.

This was announced by Town Clerk Royston King, who informed Guyana Times that the areas could not be disclosed at the moment, since many vendors might want to shift to those sites before the decision is finalised with the Markets and Public Health Committee.
King posited that while he was cognisant of the fact that the area was unsafe for the vendors to sell their produce, the Council was awaiting word from the Public Infrastructure Ministry for the commencement of the rehabilitation process.
“We await the word from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure on these works that are to be executed. At the moment, we are very worried that they are operating in very unsafe conditions and, in fact, some of the vendors can no longer operate there, because the situation is very bad,” King explained.
He added, “The situation is bad and we need to really correct that. It is wrong for them to operate there and yesterday, I spoke with the Clerk of the Market’s office and asked him to talk with those vendors and to encourage them to, when the time comes for them to relocate, that they should take the opportunity. That facility is unsafe.”

Vendors’ plight
Numerous merchants who use the Wharf to sell their goods have registered their concerns over its structural degradation and the dangers it pose. Over time, fears have grown even more.

When this publication spoke to some of the vendors, they were up in arms over the persistent state of disrepair of the Wharf.
Since the beginning of June 2016, it was reported that the Town Clerk had announced that works would commence on the structure after they received word from the Public Infrastructure Ministry to go ahead with the project.
Nevertheless, in November 2017, the works were still pending and this newspaper was informed that the vendors would be relocated to the west of Parliament Building, following the removal of the Island Snackette and Pizzeria, to facilitate the rehabilitation. According to City Hall, they were expected to move by the end of November.
Additionally, the budget for the complete refurbishing of the Wharf was slated at some $400 million. After the repairs, the section of the market which faces the Demerara River would be converted into a mall, inclusive of a boardwalk and entertainment areas. After the ideas were approved by the vendors, they would be required to pay a larger sum of money to rent space on the new structure.
Once, more than 300 vendors were located at the Wharf, but, over the years, that number dwindled as fears grew about the dangers posed by the unsafe structure.