Dear Editor,
It would be difficult to find a citizen of Georgetown who was not nauseated and repelled by the photograph in the newspapers recently of the Town Clerk of Georgetown and colleagues brutishly removing over 30 hapless vendors who have been plying their trade on Alexander Street, Georgetown.
Why do they not remove the vendors at the corners of Regent and Avenue of the Republic obliquely opposite City Hall, who are selling rat poison and other pesticides? The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) of Guyana has said numerous times that the sale of pesticides and other toxic chemicals from roadside vendors is dangerous to health and against the law. Indeed, the law requires vendors to be certified before they sell. These vendors are not certified. It seems as though the folks at City Hall are completely unconcerned that according to the World Health Organisation, 44.2 in every 100,000 Guyanese commit suicide every year – compared to the global average of 16. And the epidemic affects young and old with children as young as 10 killing themselves, with the most common method being through the use of poison, generally involving pesticides or rat poison.
Why don’t they stop the vendors around Bourda and other markets from selling chicken especially after hours? The Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01, City Market By-laws states that: “it shall not be lawful for any person to bring without permission of the Council uncooked fresh meat into the Market. Also, no person shall sell or offer for sale in any market fresh meat except at a stall set aside and appropriated for that purpose”. So why is the City turning a blind eye to the selling of poultry meat outside the markets?
But aside from these two egregious examples, one just has to look at the pavements of Regent, Robb, Water, King, Wellington, America Streets, etc and one will see them chockfull with vendors. Are they not as illegal as the ones they are removing from Alexander Street? Are they not interfering with traffic as well and blocking entrances?
What about the mobile fish caravan that is illegally occupying a spot at the corners of Regent and King Streets? Should they not be removed?
Come on City Hall. “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
Sincerely,
Modi Sankar
