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Feb 26, 2014 News
By Zena Henry
Councilors of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) yesterday refused to address the arbitrary increase to vending spots for the recently held Mashramani Costume and Float Parade. They distanced themselves from the “confusion” which caused several big companies to abandon their usual vending spots, while noting the numerous complaints received during the Mash period.
Mayor Hamilton Green noted during the Council’s Statutory Meeting yesterday that the matter will not be discussed since the increase to Mash spots was not a decision taken at the level of Council. The Mayor said he received several complaints that persons were asked to pay money for their spots, especially at Merriman’s Mall on Mash Day; but they refused. The Mayor made it clear that the Council as a whole had nothing to do with the increases.
Chairman of the Markets and Public Health Committee, Ranwell Jordan, told Kaieteur News however, that concern has been brought to the cleaning process following the Mashramani celebrations. Although he was unable to provide a figure, Jordan explained that the Council would have missed out on much needed funds as a result of individuals and companies refusing to pay increases for vending spots.
That money, he said, would usually assist in the immediate clean-up of streets following the celebrations. Concern, he continued, has been drawn to the city still having waste strewn about. Jordan highlighted that the Council should have been able to pull in enough money to have a full clean-up of the city completed by yesterday. He said, “Enough money was not earned to sponsor an effective cleanup campaign.”
Any failure to achieve that, Jordan said, would be on the administration. When asked he explained that Town Clerk Carol Sooba would be the head of administration, while pointing out that she was also the one to take up the charges and issuance of vending spots for Mashramani.
Jordan said that the clean-up exercise is the sole responsibility of City Hall. “Whether the administration seeks assistance from the government in getting the place clean, it is a function of City Hall’s administration,” he reiterated.
He added that providing vending spots was initially part of the functions of the Council’s Social Development Committee, headed by Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene. That was until the Town Clerk took it on her own to issue the spots. Jordan related that the Town Clerk with the backing of the Local Government Ministry is bypassing the committee. The effects of this he said, “would be determined in terms of the relationship between vendors and the Administration; a relationship between organizations that normally benefit from the occasion.”
The Social Development Committee would use fees to assist in several areas such as Constabulary, welfare department etc. It was added also that large companies would have pulled out, refusing vending spots, and the Council therefore lost revenue since no one new entities took up the unoccupied spaces.
Chase –Greene had told the media that several persons met with officers of the Council and had signaled their intention to pull out of the venture. She said that fees were $5000 to $20,000 for regular vendors; commercial entities paid at least $200,000-$400,000per spot. However the new charge doubled or in some cases tripled; regular vendors were asked to pay $15,000 per spot while commercial entities were required to pay as much as $800,000 per spot.
“The money initially was meant for cleaning the grounds after the Mashramani celebrations. The allocation of spots for vending along the Mash Route, Merriman’s Mall, Church Street and Irving Streets, is the responsibility of the Social Development Committee within the Council,” Chase-Greene said.
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