$23M spent to ‘prepare’ area for relocation – City Hall

Stabroek Wharf rehabilitation
…with no money to construct stalls for vendors

Some 82 vendors who ply their trade at the Stabroek Market Wharf, from which they have recently been debarred, will now each have to produce $400,000 to construct new stalls at the relocation site.

This is because the cash-strapped City Council, having expended $23 million to effect preparatory works at the relocation site and to debar the vendors from access to the Stabroek Wharf, now does not have the financial resources to accommodate the vendors’ relocation.
At Monday’s Statutory M&CC Meeting, there was a fierce debate among councillors relative to the mechanisms and plans behind the relocation. Those included the establishment of stalls, facilities for the vendors, and fees to be collected for occupancy of the stalls.
City Engineer Colvern Venture has so far reported that works to erect barricades at the Stabroek Wharf and the groundwork in regard to the vendors’ relocation would have been completed to the tune of $23 million. This raised questions regarding who would now be responsible for constructing stalls for the relocated vendors to occupy.
It was decided that the vendors would be solely responsible for that construction — a project which the Council estimates would cost one vendor approximately $400,000 exclusive of electricity.
Councillor Bishram Kuppen has raised concerns over the amount of money each vendor would have to find to establish a workable vending stall, but Town Clerk Royston King explained that the vendors would have agreed to stand the expenses.
“When we met with the stallholders on Thursday, they agreed that they would prefer to construct their own stalls…and that they’re ready to construct their stalls once they’re given the permission under the guidance of the City Engineer,” King reminded.
The question was also raised whether the Council could have produced the stalls, but King stated, “We don’t have the money to do it.”
It is mandatory that the structure — measuring eight feet by ten feet, and having a maximum height of 13 feet — be constructed with wood, since a steel structure would cause perishable goods to ripen at a faster rate.
Chaired by Her Worship the Mayor, Patricia Chase-Greene, the councillors decided that six weeks after completion of the stalls, a charge of $85 per square foot per month would be levied for sanitation services and other facilities that would be provided by the Council.

Until the sanitary facilities are put in place, Cevon’s Waste Management would be engaged to provide disposable services to the occupants of the stalls.
Only 82 stalls would presently be facilitated, with space for washroom facilities. The Deputy Clerk of Markets has, however, informed the meeting that there are 66 vendors marketing perishable goods.
Mayor Chase-Green has said a contract will be signed with each vendor so as to ascertain the boundaries that are set out for temporary relocation.
While the wharf has been barricaded to heighten public awareness of the dangers its deplorable state poses, and limit movements within the area, King pointed out that boats would no longer be moored at the facility in the weeks to come.
The works at the wharf are expected to take two years for their completion, and this means that the Route 42 (Grove-Diamond) minibus park would also be displaced for the same period of time.
Vendors are eagerly awaiting confirmation from the M&CC to commence their side of the bargain — to establish the stalls.

Relocation
The vendors’ relocation has caused quite some inconvenience to the operations of many persons who depend on the market to earn a daily bread. Bus drivers were removed from their area of central activity, while vendors were in tears on Thursday after access to their stalls was denied.
It is alleged that City Hall officials cordoned off the area, inhibiting the vendors from removing their perishable goods from the wharf.
The move comes nearly two weeks after City Council had issued a notice informing the vendors of their plans to remove them from the deteriorating area to facilitate rehabilitation works.
The vendors are left without a place to operate until the establishment of stalls at the new location. After the works are completed on the wharf, Chase-Green indicated, the retailers would have to pull down the stalls and cease operations at the new area.
In 2016, it was reported that the Town Clerk had affirmed the initiation of works after they would have received consent from the Public Infrastructure Ministry to go ahead with the project.
Nevertheless, in November of 2017, the works were still pending, and this publication 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 the City Hall, they were expected to be transferred by the end of the same month.
At that time, the budget for the complete refurbishing of the wharf has been slated at some $400 million. After the repairs, the section of the market which overlooks the Demerara River would be converted into a mall, encompassing a boardwalk and entertainment area. Of course, this would impose on those vendors a larger sum of money to rent the new building.
Over the years, over 300 merchants were situated at the wharf, but the number has dwindled to less than 100 following insecurities about the dangers that can be caused by the ‘unsafe’ structure.
The Town Clerk prompted on Monday, “The Council is notifying the public that the situation is very dangerous, and that the Council will not be liable for any loss, damage, loss of life, or anything allied to that.”