“We have to decriminalise illegal vending; no man should become a criminal because of the rules and regulations. By the same token, government has to facilitate it and treat it differently . . . . There are too many persons who just simply want to make a living for their families, and they are being made to be treated as criminals.”
Those were the words of then Leader of the Opposition and head of the Barbados Labour Party, Mia Amor Mottley.
The period was September 2016 when the then Democratic Labour Party administration, led by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, planned to remove some vendors from the Fairchild Street area.
Such is the cycle of issues faced by several administrations over the years, as attempts are made to have vending operated in a structured way that protects vendors and their customers while at the same time preventing total chaos on our roadsides and in the capital city.
Bridgetown is already experiencing a significant decline in foot traffic, it is losing its aesthetic appeal and charm, and there are serious questions as to whether the vending situation is helping or hurting.
Back in 2016, Ms Mottley made an important declaration. Her position was that vending should be viewed as a legitimate form of micro enterprise or subsistence living, which should not be devalued or those engaged in the trade viewed as less than.
While accepting an appreciation from the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN), during a ceremony in Palmetto Mall at which she was honoured for the support she gave the organisation, she urged the then government to treat the vendors with respect.
Furthermore, she rightfully argued that when persons were sent home due to government’s retrenchment programmes, provisions should have been made to accommodate those persons as vending, she suggested, was a viable option for many of them.
“Rest assured that we recognise that there can be no true economic enfranchisement until we have a different relationship with vendors in this country; that different relationship extends from facilities, the manner in which we relate to them, the manner in which we regulate them, the manner in which the laws apply to them. And as long as there is breath in my body . . . I will continue to do, because were it not for vendors, tens of thousands of Barbadians . . . would not have been able to be sent to school or to live, or to move to the next level,” Mottley asserted.
Today, Ms. Mottley is Prime Minister of Barbados. She has followed through with her promise to decriminalise vending. The hideous temporary market at the lower end of Cheapside was removed and vendors given much more pleasant surroundings off the Mighty Grynner Highway.
However, the government is forced to acknowledge that without regulation of street vending, including the sale of coconuts, things can go south easily.
While there has been no official word from government on the matter, vendors along Cheapside are up in arms over rumoured proposals to remove the street vendors ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled for June.
Obviously, the government wants to put on its best face as travellers and media from around the world will descend on Bridgetown as they head to the iconic Kensington Oval. It is not unexpected that the country wants to make a good impression as fans trek through Cheapside to Kensington on Fontabelle. A new statue of cricketing great Sir Charles Griffith has been unveiled, the roads are being paved, Kensington Oval is undergoing a $25 million makeover.
Vendors along the route have decried the lack of communication as they fear for their livelihood if they are forced to relocate. As many of them pointed out, they returned to Cheapside from the Mighty Grynner Highway due to a lack of foot traffic.
“What they are doing to us is not right. This is the Government that told us that they are about vendors. Nobody has come to us officially to speak to us, so we are just cats and dogs that you can kick about,” one vendor told the media.
It is clear that there are competing interests and priorities and a happy medium must be found.
