Vendors question plan to scrutinise their stock

Roadside vendors have responded with mixed reaction to promises by Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir to increase scrutiny to tackle crop theft on the island.

Weir declared, on a radio programme, that people selling sugar cane and other agricultural produce would be bound by legislation to produce a receipt indicating the source of their goods.

Some vendors between the Warrens and Hothersal Turning sections of the ABC Highway expressed support for the move, others complained that the measures would frustrate their legitimate business, and others, who admitted that the produce they sold was illegitimately obtained, called for systems to be put in place to assist “poor people”.

Jacqueline Hinkson, whose stall was adorned with a plethora of fruits, vegetables, snacks and nuts, wholeheartedly supported the measures as she showed off a number of receipts indicating that her stock was legitimate.

“When I go and purchase my things, I need a receipt. I don’t go and purchase anything without a bill. I need my bills, that is my evidence. No stolen things go into my trays,” Hinkson told Barbados TODAY.

“It is a good process because people aren’t leaving people’s things alone. They are just going, taking up people’s things and thinking that they belong to them. People work hard in the sun to make a living so they need to reap what they put down. Nobody should be taking away what belongs to people,” she added.

Hinkson, who described herself as the first coconut vendor on the stretch, said many moons ago she planted and reaped her own produce but was eventually deterred by thieves.

A stone’s throw away on the Warrens stretch, a vendor known to many as ‘Yoshi’ was adamant that none of his coconuts were stolen.

He and his team of four vendors were simply trying to survive, but the process of acquiring a receipt would complicate the process as some of his methods were somewhat informal.

“Everybody has an idea because they see us doing our thing, but we can’t supply a paper [receipt] for everything because some people give us them for free and others just give them away,” said Yoshi.

“Not everywhere that you see coconut trees it belongs to somebody. If we go down into a gully, who will write a receipt for the gully? There are people who see us here working and say ‘I have a mango tree or fruit trees at home, come for them and sell them’. How can we write a receipt for that?” he asked.

The small businessman said he was concerned that the country’s leaders were making bold statements about vendors to “make themselves look good while failing to address the issues facing many of the young vendors.

Yoshi noted that the coconut vendors had done a lot of hard work climbing trees and trekking gullies. He added they were adhering to sanitary standards.

“There are people who steal produce but there are also people in the country who will say, ‘I own this property, just give me something for the coconuts and go along’,” he added.

At the Hothersal junction, Gregory Cumberbatch said he sold sugar cane and breadfruits and “hustled” any fruits that were in season.

“It’s not like they are doing something to help us, but they are doing something to shut us down,” said Cumberbatch.

“If you don’t have anything going on, nobody pays attention, but once you have something it’s a problem. There are people out there doing all kinds of things and nobody gets locked up or anything so. We slaved in these grounds already.

“What they are saying is true – we may be carrying away the cane – but that is how it is; the men are finding something to do,” he added.

The vendor said he would be willing to discuss purchasing the canes, for resale, for a small fee.

“If we could go and tell the plantation man to open up something for the men so the men could get what they want and give them a little something, nothing is wrong with that,” said Cumberbatch. “But there’s no start, we just need a start. We don’t want to do these things all the time, so you have to do what you have to do.” kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb