Displaced Providence vendors: Relocation possibilities being examined – Edghill

…will continue plying trade under better conditions – VP

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill on Saturday said that the Ministry is not halting economic activity but rather will continue to engage with East Bank Demerara (EBD) street vendors whose stalls were recently demolished.
“We have to get some developmental work done then we will make [the vendors] aware,” Edghill told this publication on Saturday.

“We are not interrupting economic activity. We will ensure that people continue to make a living but we have to restore law and order,” Edghill added.
As of now, however, the Minister said that relocation options will not be made publicly available in order to prevent further illegal vending on locations that are not yet ready or designated towards vending.
This comes after the Public Works Ministry on Friday removed several stalls along Red Road at Providence, EBD, due to their disruptions to traffic flow and hindrance towards the Government’s efforts to beautify the environment.
This led vendors to call on the Minister to advise them on how to proceed.
“The vendors, the taxi drivers, the truckers – everybody, we’re engaging with,” Edghill said.
The Ministry had issued notices to all vendors within the area in November 2022, allowing a six-week grace period to vacate, with the final notice being delivered on Thursday, one day before the demolition exercise.
In a statement released on Friday, the Ministry expressed gratitude towards those vendors who willingly complied and adhered to the notices to vacate illegal structures along Providence Access Road and the East Bank Public Road at Providence.
“Final Notices were also served to vendors on the Road Reserve at Mocha Access Road, Herstelling/Farm Housing Scheme Access Road, Diamond Public Road, Sheriff Street, Mandela Avenue and Grove through to Timehri along the East Bank Demerara public road,” the statement added.

Better conditions
Government will not be displacing street vendors but rather, encourage and make investments to allow them to ply their trade under improved conditions.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday clarified that it is not Government’s intention to take vendors off the street and disrupt their livelihoods. However, the current circumstances under which they operate calls for enhancements.
“In some of the most developed capitals in the world, they have street vending. The street vending here has to be done under better condition. We will need massive investments in our markets and to improve management and that is being promised. You go into markets, there are potholes and all sorts of things. There has to be major investments in the markets that we have promised,” the VP shared.
According to him, there is a disconnect whereby Government cannot inject monies into the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to undertake such projects, given the history of financial misappropriation.

“You can’t give the money to the (Georgetown) City Council because they will spend it on everything else except the markets and improving the conditions. These are important for vendors in the market as well as the patrons.”
Meanwhile, he discouraged vending along the roadway which poses an encumbrance to businesses or prevents access to certain facilities. Jagdeo maintained the position that while the Administration is seeking to find a balance in street vending, vendors also need to comply.
“Then you have vending alongside the roadway. Some of the vending is done by people who own the stores, some are not. People will continue to vend on the streets but it has to be done under different conditions. You can’t block people’s store entrance and the conditions there have to improve.”
He added, “The vendors need to understand that they would be allowed to continue earning an honest living but your conditions have to improve. That has always been the position. We have never had an extreme. We have been in the middle and we have to find that.”
About two weeks ago, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) demolished several illegal structures that were hindering the city’s drainage system in preparation for the rainy season.
However, Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall met with the vendors and reassured them that their livelihoods would not be disrupted and that no one would be displaced. He also encouraged them to work with the Government to keep the drains and parapets clean to reduce the risk of flooding caused by backed-up garbage and heavy rainfall.

Encumbering public reserves
Last year, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall reminded that encumbering public reserves inclusive of road shoulders, embankments, pedestrian walks, Government reserves, and State reserves is a criminal offence.
Nandlall had pointed out that the Mayor and City Council was legitimising criminal occupation of the reserves by accepting a fee from persons and allowing them to vend on these lands. These vendors erect makeshift stalls, sheds, or place caravans, motor vehicles, carts and other receptacles on these lands, from which they do vending.
This Friday, the Public Works Ministry lauded vendors who willingly complied and adhered to notices to vacate illegal structures along Providence Access Road (Red Road/Massy Road) and the East Bank Public Road at Providence.
Notices were issued to all vendors at that location in November 2022, with a six weeks grace period to vacate. Final Notices were also served to vendors on the Road Reserve at Mocha Access Road, Herstelling/Farm Housing Scheme Access Road, Diamond Public Road, Sheriff Street, Mandela Avenue and Grove through to Timehri along the East Bank Demerara public road.