Vendors want answers

The perennial problems involving vendors and the Castries City Council seem to be on a never- ending road. Over the years the vendors have complained about poor facilities at the vendors market, lack of security, poor storage facilities, leaking roofs among other things. Some have even complained about the rise in fees over the years without their problems being addressed.  Road side vendors have also been complaining about the fees they are expected to pay.

This week one vendor wrote to the STAR after it was circulated that vending fees will once again be increasing. “As we wind down on the year 2013 and will be welcoming the New Year, we the vendors are frustrated and wondering what plans if any the Castries City Council has to solve the vending problems, other than to raise the vending price in the new year,” the vendor says.

According to the vendors they have just got confirmed news that the Castries City Council will be raising the price of vending around the city sidewalk at an additional cost of $3.00. “We were made to pay $25.00 for vendors’ registration and identification card since 2010 by the council with indication that we were going to get IDs and vending booths that would replace the current structures we are now using. The council collected our money and nothing has happened since then. We are calling on the authorities to do something to help better our business practices,” the vendor says.

“We don’t know what to do. Government cannot create employment for all of us and vending is one of the ways in which we can sustain employment and earn a decent living. Government after Government seems not to have any solution for what they call a problem.”

The STAR contacted someone at the CCC for comment. A source confirmed that discussions are ongoing to raise vending fees in the new year, but no set price had been determined as yet.