Govt looks to create cleaner, safer Bourda Market

The Government is assessing ways to improve conditions at the Bourda Market in the city, aiming to deliver a cleaner, safer and more comfortable environment for vendors and shoppers. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand, conducted a walk-through of the Bourda Market and Bourda Green section on Wednesday, where she met vendors who raised long-standing concerns about deteriorating infrastructure and weak oversight. A Department of Public Information (DPI) report said that at the meeting, vendors highlighted recurring problems, including poor drainage, inadequate sanitation, faulty sanitary facilities, leaking roofs and what they described as inattentive responses from the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and its staff.

Minister Manickchand, in response, said the current environment is uncomfortable for both sellers and customers. “[It] cannot continue”, she declared.
She further reiterated President Mohammed Irfaan Ali’s broader vision for ensuring that the country’s development benefits every citizen, not only through large-scale national projects, but through improvements in everyday public spaces.
“President Ali was very clear that in the build out of this new Guyana and with our new resources, it will not only be about high rises and bridges and roads and good infrastructure, it is going to be every citizen feeling like they have a stake and like their life has gotten better – whether a market vendor or a market shopper.”
Minister Manickchand pledged that citizens will see and experience a very different Bourda Market once plans are finalised. “We have to go back and look at a whole host of implications for building back Bourda Market, including how not to disrupt people who have to sell every day to make a living while we build back a Bourda market,” she explained. A key focus, she added, is maintaining the traditional feel of Bourda Market while introducing modern facilities.
“How do we keep the feel of Bourda Market even as we get those facilities? We are looking at [that] right now and you will see action shortly,” she said.
The Ministry is expected to outline the next steps once assessments are complete.
According to Guyana’s National Trust, Bourda Market was originally built in 1880 then rebuilt in 1902 to accommodate more vendors and patrons.