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A vendor at Ackee Village and Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas
Vendors at Ackee Village in Portmore, St. Catherine on Monday protested along Municipal Boulevard in response to a snap raid conducted by the Portmore Municipal Corporation on Sunday morning to remove illegal items at the market.
They have been at loggerheads with the municipal corporation regarding a number of issues, including the lack of a road through the market and the absence of electricity at individual stalls.
But this lastest raid on Sunday has made the vendors furious.
One vendor said the police destroyed her stall as well as her merchandise.
"Dem a deal with we like say we nah pay no rent, like we a illegal vendor... We all are registered vendor and them put we over here, them must take care of we!" she exclaimed.
Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas sought to explain why the raid was carried out, saying several meetings were held with the vendors to discuss efforts to clean up the facility.
"We decided that we are going to clean up the old fridge, the old stove, the old boards that they have. It is a disgrace when you pass and look behind the sheds. There is a lot of customer (sic) who have gone there to buy from them and call the municipality complaining about the back of the sheds, the type of things that they have there," he explained.
He said residents of Portmore have also filed complaints with the municipal corporation but the vendors still refused to adhere to the instructions given to them by the municipality "so we moved in yesterday and we carried out the operation."
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