Vendors voice more complaints about Michael Finnegan Market
It was the last shopping day for the outgoing year at the new Michael Finnegan Market, formerly known as Queen Square Market. And it did not go down smoothly. The vendors have just moved to the new facilities but it is already overcrowded. Long before the move, the vendors have been engaged in a bitter dispute with the City Council over anything and everything; from the price of stalls to the market hours. This morning, way before the crack of dawn, City Council security personnel were at the market attempting to put order to the chaos. On such a busy market day, that did not go down well and as it has in the past, emotions flared. We have the reaction from the vendors as well as from City Hall.
Luis Zetina, Market Vendor
luis zetina
“As we come early this morning bout three o’clock the security tell we we can’t sell pan the sidewalk. Soh we tell ah weh paat ih wah put we. Ih point over yonder weh paat the man got ih meat stall. Ih she unu cud goh cross deh, soh we tell ah all ah we can’t fit cross deh. Ih tell we seh well ah wah come move unu. Soh ih gone fi the police and dehn noh want nobody sell pan the street side.”
Loreta Carter, Market Vendor
Loreta Carter
“Right now ih really di slow down my business from last week because then yoh customers noh know weh paat yoh deh then dehn come look fo yoh, dehn noh find yoh. Soh ih do slow down the business wah lot. Weh happen, I had wah lee stall before dehn bruk down the old market with the belief that when dehn build back the market we wah get back wah stall. When dehn start to issue out numbers or however dehn mi gone about fi get it, we neva know nothing. Wid dat we lef out yah now.”
Luis Zetina
“We can’t afford the price deh want fi the stall and we noh come everyday. We just come two times a week. We can’t pay fi wah stall whole week and we noh di use it.”
So what is the truth, no available stalls or the cost? Sharing a stall is an option but it does require tact, honesty, communication skills & the ability to compromise. Skills, we need to develop.
It’s amazing how the city council try to manipulate people lively hood. Only allowing someone to sell their produce 2x/wk is terrible, how can they survive. Selling on the street side gives the feeling of a true local market
INCOMPETENCE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE CITY COUNCIL…………
not to MENTION A MAYOR WHO IS ………………………… M. I. A. !!!!!!
Eerl Grey, she is in Chetumal spending money like mad my friend; I saw here at the mall over the weekend, hahaha. Vote for her again Belize City folks, you did twice even after the first time she made it clear she didn’t give a shyt about Belize City or its residents and only thing she cared about was filling her pockets. So Earl if you want to find her go to Chet, you should run into her I certainly have all over the damn place.
zenaida stand up for the poor people no- u were elected to serve them not treat them people like animals wat wrong with u now u forget the poor poeple put u we u de now! But u and the councillors no forget fi collect ur thousands of $$$$$$$$$ from ur salaries ,uno do ur jobs uno just d de fi collect uno salaries noting else? tatz wrong uno know how bad the country di de now with d recession\depression no jobs d de how d poor people wan survive if uno d charge dem EXPENSIVE FI A LEE STALL AT THE MARKET? city council facey…….ALL A DEM THIEVES.
There is a cost to do buisness.To me the cost for the stalls in the new market is very reasonable.The sidewalk is not the place to do buisness.When vendors set up stalls on city sidewalk it impede on pedristrian traffic.The goverment need to crack down on all criminals.Selling on street side is unfair competition when others have to pay rent ,utilities,security, tax,etc.