Vendors in St. Vincent (SVG) threaten to withhold fees and stage protests
On Saturday, February 4, St. Vincent police and private security officers chased vendors back into the newly established vegetable markets from Kingstown streets.
Angry vendors grumble that they are not making enough money at the markets, therefore they have returned to the streets.
Vendors expressed their dissatisfaction with the market situation, threatening to withhold fees and stage a protest on Monday morning.
“They’re too wicked to people now; they want $30.00 at the end of the week; where do you get it from when you’re not making money?” one vendor stated.
“This is SVG, where we cannot make a living; if we try to come on the streets where the money is, they bring the Black Squad to take us off the road, and if we don’t move, they would lock us up and take away our stuff; you have no rights in this country,” another vendor shouted.
As part of the “Vendors Relocation Project,” the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is relocating over 380 vendors from the capital’s streets.
Clayton Burgin told the St. Vincent Times in December 2022 that the major purpose of the cleanup effort is to ensure that people can walk through the streets and that businesses may have free flow of traffic in and out of their enterprises.
Some vendors selling newspapers, phone cards, coconut water, snacks, fruits, and other things will continue to operate on sidewalks at selected locations. The existing clothing stores on Middle Street will continue to operate until better alternatives are found.
According to the authorities, there are around 1300 vendors on the island.
Video footage provided by CIBS TV
