Poor conditions and market vendors face increasing rent

While the councillor does not know where the money is, vendors at the Queen’s Square market have been battling with the dilapidated conditions of the market and are now facing a rent increase since the Hutchandani Holdings which rents the Pound Yard Complex to City Hall, is upping the rental value. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was at the market today and has this report.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The deplorable condition of the temporary Queen’s Square Market has long been one of several issues that vendors are facing since being relocated to this compound. In the dry season produce is blanketed with dust and when it rains costumers often find themselves dodging puddles of water that settle in the aisles. Keyanie Cassasola says that the upcoming rainy season may very well damage her produce.

Keyanie Cassasola, Stall Owner

keyanie cassasola

“Watch pan di situation a di market right now, rainy season di come and dehn ya canvas barely could even hold up di wata.  Di ting dehn dehn wah spoil up when time dehn get wet up, di onion, di cabbage, rice, we haffi cover down cause we sell wholesale to.  Ah noh know weh dehn wah do bout dis.”

Isani Cayetano

“It is difficult to imagine that this is the reality that vendors face here at the newly relocated Queen Square Supermarket where they are exposed to the elements.  Today is a very rainy day.  Behind me is what these vendors have to deal with and their fruits on the ground.”

Despite not being suitable for business the owner is requesting an increase in monthly payments for use of the property which is divided into a parking lot and a temporary shopping square.

gildon rowland sr

Gildon Rowland Sr., Vendor, Reina’s One Stop

“My understanding is the agreement was vendors could use the compound, make themselves comfortable the best way they can.  Now after all these investments that has happened they come around now and want to collect more money but it is not, what I’m understanding it is not City Council’s wanting to collect more money but what they really did was probably mismanage the money and now they were not making the payment that they were supposed to have been making to Mr. Hutchandani and he needs his money and well like any businessman they will find ways to get their money and at the end of the day who pays? The consumers or the people who are at the bottom line.”

The people Rowland is referring to are the hardworking vendors who make a living at the market.  According to Councilor Kevin Singh the increase in rent is to facilitate these vendors for the next six months while the new market is being built.

Kevin Singh, City Councilor

“In order to provide them with the service there in the temporary market for the next six months Mr. Arun Hutchandani has put an option on the table for us that he wanted one hundred and five thousand, four hundred and eighty seven dollars for six months which will roughly be something between seventeen thousand dollars and odd per month.”

Vendors, on the other hand, argue that if they are subjected to pay more for poor conditions then its best to transfer to the incomplete market.

Gildon Rowland Sr.

“My take on that is very simple.  If we need to pay more to be here on a compound that does not have the infrastructures, it does not have a building and we will be paying the same over there then why not since we are already in makeshift tents or so forth then why not let us use the government compound if we have to go through this nonsense with Mr. Hutchandani.”

But while they are being forced to pay higher rent construction on the Michael Finnegan Market, formerly the Queen’s Square Market, has come to a standstill.  The building was expected to have already been completed.

Kevin Singh

“According to SIF and the IDB they are in progress right now in getting the funds for the second stage of the Michael Finnegan Market.  So sometime between today and before the end of this month the market suppose to be in operating back and by doing so the contractor has told us that if he got started before the end of this month he would be only needing three to four months to finish the buildings and the rest of the remaining Michael Finnegan Market.”

It is expected that the new market will be completed in September. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

This evening the council said that following a meeting on Tuesday, the market vendors were informed that for the Pound Yard Property they need to pay reinstated rental fees of ten dollars per day or vacate the premises.