A place called home

The vendors mall, which is located along the Chaguanas Main Road, features eight by ten feet tarpaulin covered sheds and can accommodate some 250 vendors who sell a variety of clothing, shoes, bags, handbags and other haberdashery.

The mall is also outfitted with electricity, portable toilets, and a potable water supply. However when Business Day visited the site three days after the official opening, in this context I can’t tell you the full price yet but in a month time, I will.”

And as for the temporary vendors mall, he said this which would be able to house up to 250 vendors, would only be able to accommodate those persons selling dry goods and other items except meat and fish.

However, Warner had also issued two warnings to the vendors- only those vendors registered with the Chaguanas Borough Corporation (CBC) would be allocated spaces at the tent city and that there would be a “zero tolerance” against those vendors who would venture back onto the main thoroughfare after December 10, the targeted date for the start of tent city.

He again repeated the warning to those vendors who may return to the streets saying, ‘there will be zero tolerance for anybody selling on Chaguanas streets. The police have been instructed to pick up any persons selling after December 10 and they will be taken before a magistrate.”

He also warned that those vendors who failed to keep a tidy environment at the temporary location would not be accommodated at the permanent location. The vendors would also be given two months rent free at the temporary location and would have to pay a small fee from February.

He also stated that the traffic situation would also be alleviate following the relocation of the vendors from the main streets.

Chaguanas Mayor Orlando Nagessar recalled the arrangement was “to move the vendors from the street and onto a private compound where you will be more comfortable.”

“Over the years, donkey years, we have been trying to put an ease to street vending in Chaguanas. We tried several things, we put them in the back of centre city, they refused to go it too far, we put them in saith park, we build SA lot of shed there, they refuse it, they say it too far from the road,” he said and they had finally arrived at an amicable resolution.

Chaguanas vendors association president Dillion Julien also praised the initiative saying the association would encourage vendors to abide by the rules and regulations saying the mall was more favourable to “running from the police” while on the street.

“When you on the street, it’s really hard because every minute you have to looking over your shoulder and when you make a sale it’s a different story especially if you see the police coming and you have to move your goods, and still conduct the sale, sometime you have to run behind the customer just to get your money or give them change,” he said.

In full support was Neil Singh, a vendor of some 21 years who sells clothing and perfumes from his stall saying he felt “good” about the new move.

His only concern was the lack of adequate security saying the compound required five guards and not two as was presently being done by the CBC.workmen were still installing electrical fittings. Vendors complained about the lack of garbage collection and the need for additional security.

The move was made possible by Chaguanas West MP, Jack Warner, who negotiated with Minister of Health Therese Baptiste-Cornelis for use of the old Chaguanas health facility which had been relocated to another site.

Delivering the feature address at a vendor consultation, Warner said the location had been given to the CBC at no cost by the Minister of Health.

And asked about the cost of the new six storied building, two floors of which would be given to vendors to ply their trade, Warner said:

“We are still in design stage and it is not up for me to tell you at this point in time what the cost is. I guess a month from now I could tell you but this is one of the projects that the Borough is looking to build with private/ public funding so