Mandeville market vendors complain about mistreatment from municipal police

"Every month them come round and chop up the stall weh yuh sell pon, the same stall weh use (get) money and then fi tun round pay dem di market fee from the money and dem don't have one record of me don't pay dem di market fee," he complained. 

 

Another vendor, Blossom, who sells fruits and vegetables, has called for more time to pack goods and remove them from the market before it is closed. 

"We have somebody to carry in the load but the person cannot carry in everybody one time. Sometime when dem come, dem lock di market house. So half of di load have to tie up outside and half inside, so dem don't leave di gate open thats we take up our tings in peace and tie up and go home," she lamented.  

 

But the Manchester Municipal Corporation has refuted the vendors' claims.

 

Janice Mundle, Manager for Municipal Corporation Services, told Radio Jamaica News that assistance had to be sought from the police to deal with unruly vendors. 

"With regards to operations being conducted to destroy stalls, that is not true. We don't destroy stalls because the stalls are built by the council. However, what you have is vendors are, on a daily basis, making makeshift stalls and shacks in the market and utilising them in no vending areas...and those are the things that are destroyed. They are told to remove it, if they refuse to, then we will take it down because it's not a part of the infrastructure in the market."

 

With regards to the market's operating hours, Miss Mundle said the vendors are not adhering to the closing time and so the municipal police have had to clampdown to get vendors to comply.