Merriman Mall vendors fearful of flooding

May/June rainy season

As the rainy season approaches, vendors of the Merriman Mall are fearful of what their plight might be, given that the newly-rehabilitated structure is more susceptible to flooding.
Among the issues faced by the vendors, flooding was high on the agenda since it has been established that after light downpours, the tarmac and the stalls flood quite easily.
This was according to one of the vendors who told Guyana Times that only last week following the rains, some of the stalls were flooded, causing the vendors much inconvenience as they were forced to pack their goods at an elevated level to avoid contamination.
During that recent incident, there were also few sales since persons had refused to enter the environs of the market which had a substantial amount of water even though there was not much rain.
Following the complaints by the vendors on that day, the Deputy Mayor of Georgetown, Sherrod Duncan, along with the Vice Chairman of the Market and Public Health Committee, Lionel Jaikaran, had visited the Mall and were engaged in discussions with the vendors.
According to the vendor, Duncan had promised to return the following day to meet with the vendors and also to provide engineers to look at the issues that were facing the vendors.
However, she said that this was not completed and they had not since heard from the Deputy Mayor or the Vice Chairman.
The woman said that it would be for the benefit of the vendors and customers if the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) would place a little more emphasis on the conditions surrounding vending at the Merriman Mall, especially the infrastructure.
She appealed for the Deputy Mayor to return to the site so that work can be completed in an effort to combat the anticipated effects of the rainy weather.
The vendors had reported a number of additional problems that have been plaguing the smooth flow of business in the area.
Another vendor reported that the overall structure was poor and prohibited business to its fullest capacity.
The vendors believe the high walls of the stalls prevent the display of their goods to potential customers and do not fit the ideals of a marketplace.
It was reported that the M&CC had promised to have the walls reduced in size in the near future, but there was no indication of when this would be done.
With the special Market and Public Health Committee that has been established to review the conditions of market facilities across Guyana, vendors have renewed hope of improvement in the conditions under which they earn their livelihood.