STREET vendors staged a fiery protest on the main road in Chaguanas on the afternoon of May 28 as municipal and regular police moved to curb illegal vending.
The officers seized goods in front of the market, which did not sit well with the roadside vendors.
In response, the vendors temporarily blocked the usually busy street with burning debris, halting traffic. However, it was later cleared, and traffic flowed freely as the police looked on.
Chaguanas mayor Faaiq Mohammed told Newsday the police were cracking down on illegal vending.
He said he meets with market vendors on Wednesdays, and one of their major complaints was that vendors were selling in front of the market.
“It causes problems for them because these vendors sell the same goods. People would buy from the street vendors and not bother to venture into the market,” Mohammed said.
“The market vendors also pay a monthly fee of $150 to sell, while those on the roadside do not pay a cent. So we have vendors (who are) operating legally and are paying. They are obeying the law – but are not benefiting from obeying it.
"So the municipal police acted.”
He said the exercise was the first under the new council and vowed it would be an ongoing effort.
Mohammed said there are stalls/booth spaces available inside the market.
“We are welcoming these street vendors. We will accept them in the market. Rest assured, they will get a space.
“Our market has close to 1,000 vendors. It is unfair to them. They are complaining daily that they are losing sales.”
The mayor was unsure whether anyone had been arrested or charged.
One market vendor who described herself as a generation seller said she had been selling there for 30 years. The woman, who asked not to be named, said there was room inside the market to accommodate the roadside vendors.
“The police came out since morning and had been making trips removing their goods.
"By right, they are not supposed to be selling. The right thing is the right thing. They should get a stall just like everybody else,” the vendor said. “When people meet them on the road, you think they are coming inside the market to buy anything? The market is so dead, it is a shame. It is dead because of them. We are not getting an even chance.”
She said vendors and customers had to clear the market when debris began burning in the road as the smoke and heat became too much to bear.
“Inside the market was black. It lasted about an hour and people walked out of the market,” she added.
Investigations are ongoing.
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