Rosignol NDC working to regularise vending
DPI, Guyana, December, 2017
The Saturday market which operates at the Stelling Road, Rosignol has been attracting vendors from near and far. The Rosignol – Zeelust Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) has attempted to bring the situation of illegal vending under control with the provision of a structure.
Authorities are seeking to have vendors occupy the stalls allocated to them within the building. However, the facility remains underutilised, with some vendors having abandoned stalls allocated to them, in preference to vending at the side of the roadway, and this has led to the area being quite congested on Saturday morning.
Recently, officials from the NDC with the Police attempted to remove the illegal vendors from the Stelling Road which is transformed into a hive of activity from as early as 4:30 am every Saturday. However, the vendors refused, and the NDC for the time has conceded.
Vending along the road shoulder is illegal; as such, the NDC is not allowed to collect fees from these operators unless they are brought under the umbrella of the NDC. There have been several meetings involving both the NDC and vendors, but so far they have failed to agree on a solution.
While some vendors have expressed a willingness to pay whatever fees the NDC requires, others are contending that the NDC should upgrade the facility on the railway embankment since this has led to some abandoning their stalls to compete with the itinerant vendors. It is felt that these illegal vendors have an unfair advantage over those who operate from within the market.
Under the law, the Council is authorised to seize the goods of the persons not in compliance. However, the authorities are seeking to avoid confrontation with the vendors. The Council has stated that the market can accommodate all the vendors and to this end, the NDC is committed to having the situation normalised.
The NDC, plans to continue discussions with the vendors to encourage them to return to their stalls, as well as to encourage the others vending on the railway embankment to accept stalls in the market.
By: Bertie Peters
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