Market vendors dislike relocation

We reported on Tuesday night that the Belize City Council is relocating vendors from the Queen’s Square market and moving them to the Pound Yard Bridge area. The Pound Yard compound is not far away but it is a congested area. The move is to facilitate renovations on the present market facility on West Collet Canal. The Council says the relocation will take place from July eighth to the tenth. But the vendors say the last minute notification does not give them enough time for the transfer and they are not willing to move to an area where there are no stalls.

Kevin Singh, Councillor responsible for Markets
“These people were informed for about almost two months or more that the market would be coming down sometime soon. Eventually they were aware of it for the last three years that the market was going to be rebuild.”

Vendor #1
“Just now that they are sending us letters and everything to tell us we have to move eena ten days time and we can’t get enough money to move over there eena ten days time.”

Vendor #2
“I noh feel okay because deh weh happen dat dehn should ah mek wah location first and den dehn want we eena eight days fi come out from yah and deh want we fi bruk down wi building, den we have to put it yonda. We noh get no notice, yesterday dah di fuss notice wi get, we noh get no two month notice.”

Vendor #1
“We need a place to go over there because we sell juices, we have our food, our meats.”

Kevin Singh
“They were not promised anything, they were just told that they were gonna be relocated. We wah put light and water fi deh and we wah try assist deh eena di best way we cud. If we cudda mi build things fi dehn we wudda mi build things fi dehn but di City Council noh have money right now.”

Vendor #4
“Deh mi got bout sixty odd people out yah weh got vehicle. Dah wah busy traffic area deh di ker people goh park deh. Weh pah people wah park deh vehicle out deh, weh people wah do eena dah hot sunhot?”

Vendor #3
“Dehn tek we like idiots. Dehn just bring wah paper stating that we have to transfer. Di paper got di twenty-sixth pan it. And dehn issue it yesterday wid no signature, no authority from none ah di highest one, di Mayor or di Councillors or whatsoever, none ah dat. Dehn si send we ova deh we noh even got no toilet, no nothing noh deh ova deh. Di fence, some ah di fence deh drop down. Dat dah no kinda security fi fi we stuff. Den deh things dah perishable stuff, deh can’t deh eena di sun.”

Kevin Singh
“The majority of them have outstanding bills. You wouldn’t want to see it. Then dehn dah di same people one deh weh get up and quarrel bout move deh.”

Marion Ali
“So they won’t be allowed back in the market?”

Kevin Singh
“We will give every body a break. If dehn pay deh bill then wi wah give dehn wah break to come back. But they are outstanding bills.”

Vendor #3
“Owe? No we, well I noh know who all owe deh but I cud tell yoh, I noh owe deh wah dolla because I pay thirty dollars a day and I cud prove dat because I got my receipt deh.”

But if the vendors were having a hard time meeting their current fees then it will be worse for them when the new facility is built. This is because Councillor Singh says more than likely the rent will go up from a hundred and twenty dollars per month for regular sized stalls. Councillor Singh also says that of the sixty-four vendors, fifty-seven are in arrears with the Council of about a hundred and seventy five thousand dollars. The renovations will be done through funds from the Social Investment Fund at a cost of around seven hundred thousand dollars and will include a two storey concrete structure. The Council hopes that the work will finished by Christmas.