As the rainy season prevails, vendors of both the Stabroek Market and Bazaar have expressed discomfort while plying their daily trade, after leaking roofs resulted in damaged goods.
Entrance to the Stabroek Market Bazaar
Speaking with Guyana Times on Monday, a vendor explained that last week, he went to work and upon opening his stall, he found that the leakage had damaged a quantity of dry goods.
While the areas have been known for their dilapidated state, only droplets would fall from the roof and were easily fixed with the placement of a bucket. However, it has become a bigger issue now and other stalls have also complained about losses. More importantly, this occurrence poses as a discomfort.
“I come in last Wednesday or Thursday and when I look down, the ground wet wet. That’s when I tell my son that the roof leaking bad and look at how much [things] get wet… All the soap and things that went open wet and I had to throw them away,” the woman indicated.
She retails primarily household items, and incurred over $90,000 in losses. Adding to that, the drainage mechanism is poor, causing a buildup of water which customers are not willing to traverse.
Meanwhile, other persons also complained bitterly about this issue. Another woman, Shehnaz, said a friend of hers owns a store in the Stabroek Market, where water seeped in from the ceiling from another stall. This would have damaged a number of electronic supplies and shoes.
“They lost a lot also but we out here and the place is wet and we don’t have a proper place to sell. We want to tell City Hall that we can’t go on like this. They got to do something,” she implored.
Sections of the market have required dire repairs, especially the wharf at the rear end and the iconic Stabroek Clock which has not ticked for years. In 2016, the United States embassy in Guyana donated US$41,000 for the rehabilitation of the Clock when the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown were battling to have it repaired.
In 2018, it was revealed during a Commission of Inquiry that the restoration was never completed. As usual, City Hall’s cash-strapped crisis was also blamed for failing to conduct repairs as well as the fact that additional works on supporting erections were necessary.
Meanwhile, at the adjoining wharf, vendors were removed over one year ago and they are stranded there until it commences.
