Pres Ali announces infrastructural, security upgrades for Bourda Market

…Local Govt ministers, senior police to make follow-up visits with vendors

Following a visit to Bourda Market, President Dr. Irfaan Ali pledged to look into upgrading the market with a logscale approach similar to the Parika Market complex and to enhance security in the surrounding area.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, President Ali along with a contingent that included senior members of Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, visited Bourda Market, Georgetown.

After the visit, during which the president spoke with vendors, he announced that the Local Government Ministry will engage with vendors to explore the possibility of upgrading the market based on the Parika Market model.
At Parika, an over $200 million complex is being built, which will allow vendors to sell their goods in a more comfortable environment. Additionally, the government has been investing large sums of money in upgrading markets at Leonora, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

According to Ali, Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Sonia Parag, as well as Minister within the Ministry, Anand Persaud, will consult with the vendors on this proposal.
“Minister Anand and Minister Sonia… and the councilors… will come during the course of this week and let us do a consultation in this Bourda Market area. Maybe to see how we do Parika and put down one big shed.”
“Instead of all of these small stands and the place in a horrible condition? We put one big shed and then do the stalls like how we do the other markets. And then clean up this whole place, tarmac it. Because the City Council not doing anything. Clueless.”
Ali also acknowledged the complaints from vendors regarding the garbage situation in the city. Despite the Georgetown Mayor and City Council being mandated to collect garbage, this continues to be an ongoing issue as piles of garbage can be seen all around the city.
In fact, only a few days ago Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, had announced that strict enforcement measures will soon be implemented to curb the improper disposal of garbage around the capital city.
Indar had made this disclosure as he addressed several representatives of business support organisations at the Private Sector Commission’s Headquarters last Friday, where he told them that businesses have been found to be one of the most culpable sections of society in the removal of waste material.
Indar, who is also Chairman of the National Enhancement Committee (NEC), said it has come to his attention that commercial operations are indiscriminately disposing of their garbage by paying vagrants to get rid of it in improper and unhealthy ways.
The minister disclosed that the NEC is obtaining video and photographic evidence of those people breaking the law, and he said this would kickstart a vigorous campaign to charge those who continue to flout the anti-littering regulations.

Security
During the president’s discussions with vendors, concerns were also raised regarding security in the environs. In fact, this was one of the main issues raised. As far back as 2018, then Chief Constable Andrew Foo had named the Stabroek and Bourda markets as criminal hot spots. The vendors told the President, however, that the city constabulary is hardly even seen.
“They’re collecting money from the people in the market. They supposed to have the constable out there. The people said no constabulary, no security, nothing. They supposed to pick up the garbage. So, we’ll have to deal with it. We’ll work on that,” President Ali said.
“Today, I asked the police to come and do a full outreach on security. They’ve got to put down at least one major outpost to support the whole market. So, before the end of this week, the police got to put down, you know the containerised outpost? They’ll put down the containerised outpost.”
President Ali explained that they would also employ the use of CCTV cameras, which would be used to identify criminals in the act. These cameras, according to the Head of State, would be set up in a way to allow the vendors themselves to keep an eye on their environs.
“I’ll tell them to see how they can connect the cameras to this screen. So, everybody can see what’s happening in the market on the screen… it’s the motorbike (bandits). So, we gon sort that out. We gon put that there. We’ll put the outpost and connect the cameras to the screen. So the police can see the screen from the outpost,” he explained.
The PPP/C Government has been implementing a ‘Safe City’ programme that, in 2024, received a $2 Billion allocation to expand the programme into a ‘Safe Country Project’. The project aims to help in fighting crime through the use of surveillance technology. (G3)