SANTA CRUZ:
Illegal vendors, who sell their wares on the sidewalks of Santa Cruz main road, demonstrated in the streets of the market on Monday morning, after they were removed by the police in continuation of the drive to rid the streets of illegal vending.
The placard-bearing vendors, who sell clothes and other dry goods on the crowded streets of Santa Cruz, are protesting against, what they say is, the filthy market which needs to be cleaned.
One lady who spoke on behalf of the irate vendors said, "there are inadequate bathroom facilities and the place is filled with faeces and there is not enough space to hold them". She added, "we will go to the market, if the proper infrastructure are put in place". The vendors shouted in support, "we want good market system, (or) we are not leaving the street side".
However, when The Gleaner contacted the Parish Council Service Manager, Willard Thompson, he refuted the claims by the vendors. He said there was space inside the market to house all the vendors. However, he admitted that there were a lot of bathrooms inside the market which needed to be cleaned and properly maintained.
Continuing, he said that the Parish Council will be continuing to remove illegal vendors from the streets and they will be making the necessary arrangements to accommodate all the vendors at the market. The manager told The Gleaner that it is the Council's plan to eliminate street vending and illegal parking in Black River and Santa Cruz.
