Temporary shutdown for vending on roads near Bourda Market for clean-up

…health must take priority – Mayor, as vendors face stricter rules

Vending in the vicinity of Robb Street, Alexander Street and Bourda Street, Georgetown, has been paused as the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) have initiated a cleanup exercise to address the unsanitary conditions in the area. Last week, the vendors were ordered to cease trading and remove all structures to facilitate a cleanup exercise from Monday to Wednesday. The exercise intends to address sanitation, drainage and sewage-related issues in the area.
Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore inspected works on Monday, where he emphasised the importance of this exercise, noting that “sometimes we got to stop prioritising economics over health.” “What we’re trying to achieve here, as you can see, is regularise how the vendors operate. We’ve had conversations with not only the vendors but people who own properties here, and we realise that we have to do something to be able to fix and have this place in a way that is more healthy and more habitable for people selling vegetable and fruits and otherwise, and we believe the place was not as clean as it should [be],” the Georgetown Mayor said.
He noted that this exercise must be conducted on a regular basis, either monthly or quarterly. Meanwhile, upon completion of the clean-up exercise, he said affected vendors will be able to return to the location under strict conditions until they are permanently relocated to Merriman’s Mall. The vendors will be required to use collapsible tents and tables in order to vend, as permanent structures will not be allowed. “Ideally, these makeshift tents and these pallets – you know, we’ve always been named a ‘pallet place’ or a ‘pallet city’ – we’re trying, as a council, to remove pallets all along Regent Street, all along Robb Street, and all along a number of places,” he noted. “The pallets is something we want to dismantle and not have in our system,” he added. Meanwhile, Mayor Mentore further emphasised the importance of vending in safe environments for both sellers and buyers.

“We want people to vend; we believe vending is very necessary in our economy and in our society, and we want to encourage it, but we want to encourage a more healthier environment and an environment that is more pleasing to persons and also to not get people sick,” he posited. In fact, he said authorities will look into making it easier for vendors to dispose of their garbage. “We’ve also just okayed a contract with one of our persons that do waste disposal to have one of their trucks parked just at the corner of Regent and Alexander Streets…so you can’t say that you gotto walk too far; we’re bringing things closer to you, we’re bringing a truck closer to you,” he explained. Mayor Mentore added that there will be consequences for vendors who fail to properly dispose of their garbage. “You must help to walk the person that you gave that garbage to – to take it to the right place so that persons don’t carry it and drop it somewhere else. And if we find out that you, as a vendor, is not complying with that particular term or is not giving it to someone who will be able to do that, you will not be able to sell in these environments,” he outlined.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Denise Miller noted that the vendors were consulted more than a month ago on the clean-up campaign. “We understand for the three days, yes, they will suffer some amount of setback in terms of their business, but they have to understand where the balance between their health and what their income means to them,” she noted. The City Council has indicated that other market locations around the city will be targeted for a similar exercise soon.