Kitty Market rehabilitation at standstill

Despite promises that the rehabilitation of the Kitty Market will be completed by the end of this month, vendors have complained that over the past week construction works have halted.

According to vendors, although they have been temporarily relocated to areas outside the market, they are required to pay their daily rents of $600 and monthly rent of $9000 to keep their spots within the market.

However, vendors have expressed frustration to this newspaper as work has halted and there are uncertain about when they will be back in the market.

The vendors complained that since reconstruction began, the workers have been prolonging the job, arriving late and often seen idling.

“Since the work start, they aint doing nothing much. They start working till late in the afternoon, come in them own time. I does be here for 9am and they does come later than me. They moving along slowly. But they taking they time cause is more money they making if the work take long,” said a fruit vendor, who was relocated to the pavement oblique to the market.

Another vendor told this publication that the workers have stopped working and when enquires are made they are told that the money provided for the restoration works had been exhausted.

The merchants highlighted that though they have not been utilizing their space in the incomplete market, they are still required to pay monthly and in some cases, daily fees, pointing out that when the market restoration process had begun, they were indeed grateful but that is because they were promised their space in the market before Guyana’s 50th Independence Day.

“We still have to pay we rent, you know. The market did start build and we de glad but they tell we one thing, and another thing happen. The market aint done yet. They didn’t keep they promise. But we still gotta pay we money,” said a peeved merchant.

Meanwhile this publication’s efforts to contact Town Clerk Royston Clerk and Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis, proved futile.