After four break-ins at the Bourda Market in one week and countless robberies on the streets, merchants are considering whether to continue selling or wait until proper security measures are in place.
This publication was informed by one vendor that his stall was broken into last Monday and several items were stolen. Similar incidents followed on Thursday and on Friday where other persons were robbed.
Razak (only name given), who has been plying his trade of perishable goods for some years, said it is the worst they have seen in recent times. On Monday, he was greeted by several items missing and a broken lock on one of the entries in the morning hours. However, security cameras were not working to determine who committed the act.
According to him, they are operating in an unsafe zone where the promises of adequate streetlights and security cameras were made but never installed.
“I come and see the window open and when I look through, almost everything inside gone. I didn’t know what to do cause nobody really does be here in the night…no working security camera and no proper light. They saying how long, since they fix the road that we getting upgrade but the reality is that nothing happening,” the man lamented.
The market is crowded during the day with bustling customers, making the area an easy target for bandits to rob persons and escape. Vendors are under the impression that these offences are carried out by petty thieves who scour the area during the day to rob customers and return in the night.
However, several persons claimed that they are afraid to make reports to the City Constabulary since officers would victimise them for tax documentation among other things.
“People don’t want to file the report because when you go to there, they asking for paper to see if you paying for the stall and then they coming at the stall to check if you selling when you should, instead of looking at the bigger issue. How can we get help if that’s what they’re doing?” the vendor questioned.
Due to continued losses, some persons are sceptical about their safety and if they should continue selling at the marketplace.
At the last statutory meeting, it was revealed that two persons are in custody for recent offences of the same nature.
Since February last year, Bourda Street was rehabilitated and vendors were given new dimensions to have their stalls reconstructed. From then on, some persons opined that streetlights should have been installed.
Later that year, City Constable Andrew Foo had confirmed the increase in market crime, which he believed was gang related. At that time, both Stabroek and Bourda Markets were under surveillance.
