Cumberland Market vendors call for removal of their roadside rivals

CUMBERLAND, EAST CANJE – “We don’t want road shoulder vending! When they come and sell out there, people buy from them and gone; nobody come in the market anymore and we are the ones paying.”
But Region Six Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha said he would look into the matter and intends to raise it with the Chairman of the Ordnance/Fort Lands Neighbourhood Democratic Council.
He said that he has already given instructions for the removal of all illegal structures and vendors from road shoulders across East Berbice/Corentyne and cannot comprehend why the officials of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council in that area turned a blind eye to the problem.
Similar issues exist at Rose Hall Town, Corriverton and New Amsterdam, all of which are now said to be under the microscope.
Vendors of the Cumberland Market in East Canje are calling for the removal of their competition – the roadside vendors. According to those who abide by the rules, they are forced to pay a stall rental of $200 weekly and those who ply their trade outside of the market do so at no cost.
The Cumberland Market operates between Monday and Saturday, the latter being the biggest and the day that attracts the most roadside vendors.
“This is very bad, we paying $200 and we don’t get sales here. People who sell on the road, sell and gone their way and don’t pay a cent. On Saturdays is about 20 of we vendors does deh inside the market.”
One of the ladies said she opened her stall at 08:00 hours and by 13:30 she sold absolutely nothing, “What we can do? We just got to cut and cover.” Besides that issue, they are in need of sanitary facilities and portable water. An elderly woman spoke of the structure they must use to answer nature’s calls, “How they (Administration) expect you to climb and use that thing? Me ain’t know is what they got there. It stinks! No water. Go see the pipe to get water how it nasty, me ain’t know is what going on here.”
The affected vendors claim that the facility at one time attracted a large number of buyers, “but now people hardly coming. At one time people used to come from as far as Gangaram but now everybody going Port Mourant Market and we suffering. Is slow business or no business that is the order of the day.”