– goods, other items damaged during ongoing rainy season
– $32M spent under APNU/AFC govt to fix
The height of the rainy season has brought on the perils of damaged goods for vendors of Bourda Market as a result of leaking roofs which they are subjected to operate under.
This matter was first highlighted on Monday during a statutory meeting at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, where acting Town Clerk Sherry Jerrick related that several stallholders have been complaining.
The section of the market in question was under repair but she pointed out that the contractor is yet to fix these flaws.
“The stallholders are being affected…It is still leaking and the contractor seems not to be doing anything. At the end of the day, when the damage occurs, then the Council has to bear that liability. I will engage the Ministry with the concerns of the Council, which are the concerns of the stallholders,” Jerrick noted.
This publication spoke with a vendor on Tuesday, highlighting that it is a serious concern for those persons operating under such conditions.
Bourda Market
“So, is a situation where I put plastic to block out this water because if it reach my stocks, then you get a loss…When it rains, the water used to come in but not so much. But since the rainy season, the place like a strainer,” he told Guyana Times.
Apart from the fear of losses, the man noted that persons also have electrical concerns.
“We don’t want a situation where if it rains and we not here and something spark up, everything gone. In the day, people could get an electrical shock and all kinds of things…So, we already reach out to the clerk to see what the Council would be doing.”
The acting Town Clerk had also related to the meeting that in the past, one woman suffered significant losses due to flooding and had to be compensated by the contractor. However, this problem remains unfixed. It was indicated that the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry will be appraised of the issue.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ubraj Narine outlined that engineer attached to the Council, Rasheed Kellman had already made checks on a previous occasion to look into the complaints.
“I had asked Mr Kellman to rectify this same thing you’re speaking of and it was report to us that everything was okay. See how it come back to us. That same very problem,” he stated.
Rehabilitation of the Bourda Market was part of a $300 million budget allocated by then Ministry of Communities under the APNU/AFC for the Georgetown Restoration Programme. It was reported that over $32 million was allotted for the replacement of the roof and other works at the market.
Under this programme, works were also conducted at the La Penitence, Kitty and East Ruimveldt markets.
