The vendors operating out of the Queen’s Square Market in Belize City were given the good news this week that they would finally be getting the new market facilities that they had first heard about three years ago, but the remainder of the notice, hand delivered to them by market manager Bernadette Saldivar, was not well-received.
The Belize City Council wants to move the market vendors for the time being to the old City Council compound at Pound Yard, but it is now private property used as a bus park for public buses.
The letter to the vendors, dated Friday, June 26, but not delivered until Tuesday, June 30, said that the vendors had to move their stalls by next Friday, July 10, and they had only three days to relocate, starting on Wednesday, July 8.
The vendors, especially those with large stalls and water and electricity connections, were outraged by the short notice. One vendor went so far as to say that the Belize City Council has reneged on its promise to finance the relocation; others are concerned that the construction is being done during the hurricane season.
Lucero Ramirez, a female vendor who sells clothes and shoes in the market, said they were told three years ago about the new market project, but they didn’t get any definitive notification until Tuesday.
“We need proper notice,” she contended.
City Councilor Kevin Singh, in charge of market and security, acknowledged the concerns, but he told Amandala that Mayor Zenaida Moya-Flowers told him that the vendors had not been promised anything.
Vendor Joel Castaneda said that Moya-Flowers had met with the vendors years ago and told them that the Council would build stalls for them at the time of relocation.
“We want answers; we are not animals,” he commented.
“The market manager told us it is our responsibility to build the booths,” said vendor spokesman, Ellis Humes. “We won’t move until the Mayor comes and meets with us, so we can voice our opinions at least,” he said.
Singh showed Amandala a city plan of the Pound Yard temporary bus park, now a private property owned by Arun Hotchandani and his family.
He said that on Tuesday, vendors will be asked to draw lots for a spot on the compound, to avoid quarrels over who gets the best spot.
“They will pick out of a bag for the space that they will get,” said Singh.
“I don’t think this [compound] is big enough for all of us, with the buses too,” a concerned fruit/vegetable vendor, worried about the practicality of the relocation, told Singh Thursday evening.
The vendors need to move early because demolition is due to begin around the end of the month, and they should plan to stay at the temporary location for about 8 months, Singh insisted.
Vendors inside the market, regardless of arrears to the council, will get first preference, and vendors on the street will get second preference, said Singh.
The various vendors Amandala spoke with echoed much the same sentiments, that they had serious concerns over the short notice.
Singh claimed that the Social Investment Fund (which is implementing the project) had told the Council three or four weeks ago that they are ready to move ahead with the project, but they faced the challenge of finding a new location for vendors. They had asked the Minister of Sports for permission to use the football field next to the Racoon Street Police Station, but were refused, Singh told Amandala.
“This is the best we could do. This is the only place there is. If we could have done much more for them, we would try. But like I just said, City Council is in need of money. Last week, SEL was coming to close us down.”
Singh accused the 67 vendors documented inside the market of owing the Belize City Council money for using the market space, but the vendors we spoke with Thursday stressed, showing us copies of some receipts, that they don’t know how the Council could claim they owe, because they pay every day.
“It appears that things are only bad with the Council,” commented a vendor who does not wish to be named. “Things are bad internationally. And if it is bad for the Council, what you think about the small individual?”
The vendors are also deeply concerned over how they will handle the transfer of their utilities and who will pay the bills; they worry about the open air facilities and the sludge which they say will cover the compound when it rains. Finally, they are concerned about having to transfer their existing stalls or build new ones on the temporary market site.
“We will have drops so that they could get the current,” said Singh. “City Council has to pay for it. A line will come in and there will be drops for the meat people and those who sell food, who have a refridge… [but] they still have to pay [the bills].”
Between Wednesday and today, Singh oversaw the relocation of a dozen booths from the Battlefield Park to the Pound Yard compound, which he said would be rented to food vendors at the temporary market location. Today, truckloads of hard fill were being hauled into the compound. A water connection already exists, Singh said.
Vendors on the streets also have their concerns. According to Humes, they had been reporting that a City Council official had been threatening to relocate them to the old garbage dumpsite on the Western Highway. When we asked Singh about this allegation, he contended that it was untrue, because all the vendors, including those on the streets, would be required to relocate to Pound Yard.
Amandala understands from Alvin Hyde, Jr., and his wife Angela that nine market vendors concerned about their utilities had approached them for spots at the original Queen Square Market, next door, and they could accommodate more vendors if they want to use that location.
The market vendors contend that the Pound Yard compound is way too small to accommodate all of them, and the buses that now use the venue as a parking lot; they also contend that all the dust and emissions coming from the buses could pollute their produce.
Singh said that a barricade would separate vendors from the buses, which he said would be restricted to the east side of the compound.
All the vendors we spoke with say they agree that a new market is needed, and they appreciate it, but they don’t like the way the project is being undertaken.
Mike Hernandez, director of public relations for the Social Investment Fund (SIF), which is implementing the project, told Amandala today that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is giving Belize $491,472 for the new market facilities. The Government of Belize is providing from its Capital II budget $104,118, and $18,750 comes as community contribution in the form of sweat equity.
“The merits of the project don’t need to be explained,” said Hernandez. “We want to improve the market.”
Hernandez disputed media reports that the building will have two stories: The project entails the construction of type 1 and type 2 stalls. There will be 2 stalls of 10 x 10 feet (type 1), and 18 measuring 20 x 10 feet (type 2). All these would be at the ground level, he told us.
He also informed that the existing concrete structure at the front of the market would not be demolished but refurbished, providing further space for vendors in addition to the 20 new stalls. The wooden structures will all be demolished, Hernandez said.
“In addition to that, the project will include the addition of toilets and shower facilities for both males and females. We expect it will be a welcome move by wholesalers who come to sell their stuff. There will be proper drainage facilities constructed and a proper waste disposal system,” Hernandez added.
Selwyn Jones is the building contractor, said Hernandez, noting that they are still awaiting final CDB approval.
According to Hernandez, he and other key SIF personnel plan to accompany Belize City Council officials on a visit to the Queen Square Market next Tuesday, when they will explain everything to the vendors and show them the architectural design by Anthony Thurton and Associates.
“Vendors need to be relocated, and they need to be satisfied, obviously, with where they are going,” Hernandez commented.
“We will be there to meet with the vendors,” Hernandez added. “A part of the project requirement is to liaise with the project community, so they can understand what will be done and how they will benefit.”
He told us that once construction is completed, SIF would turn over the facilities to the Belize City Council.
The concerns of the market vendors don’t end with the logistics of moving to the new site, but extend to what will happen once the new market is ready. They want the City Council to tell them what the cost of the new stalls will be.
While Singh could not give us any specifics, he indicated that the new stalls will be more expensive.
“We have no idea what we will have to pay when we come back here. That’s what we want to know, the cost, the space that will be available, because it might turn out like the Commercial Center—people had to move because they could not afford it,” said Humes, speaking for market vendors.
“The new structure, I definitely sure, will cost more, but, I mean, the people have to learn to pay. The majority of them have outstanding arrears. They collect every day, but if you see the arrears they have…”
Humes is calling on Mayor Moya-Flowers to come meet with the vendors, to answer their questions and concerns. Singh said the Mayor will hopefully be there, but he could not say for sure.