The Mayor and Councilors and acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba are at odds over the sale of Mashramani spots this year. The Council says that it has always been the job of the Social Development Committee to sell spots and it will remain that way. Sooba says however, that the sale of spots is her responsibility and the process will be done by the officers under her management.
With citizens unsure as to which arm of the Council holds the authority, some have opted to purchase spots, especially since they were warned by the Town Clerk that action will be taken against them if they didn’t. Others have opted to go with the announcements of the Mayor and Councilors and did not pay for spots, since they were being offered for free.
Vendors started to unpack their goods and set up for today’s event; but some got a rude awakening when they found that they were occupying spots that other people paid for and will have to move. Small arguments erupted but vendors were more concerned with the Council’s poor management of the activity.
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| Mrs. Welch looks at Mr. Wills’ receipt which he received for the spot |
Todd told the newspaper that on February 11, she went to City Hall to purchase a spot for Mash Day. She said she asked where she had to go for information on the process and was directed to the Mayoral section of the compound, where she was told that the spots were for free.
She said she received instructions and the following day she went to uplift a receipt which identified her number. She had done this for her aunt also. However, yesterday when the women arrived at their spots on Vlissengen Road, they were approached by another woman holding a receipt showing that she had paid for the said spots since February 9.
Reluctant and disappointed, the women had to remove from the location. But they were peeved that they had every intention to pay for the spots and were turned down. Todd said she had also visited the Town Clerks office, but her aunt, Abrahams suggested that because of Todd’s diminutive stature, and childish features, she was probably mistaken for a juvenile and sent to the Mayoral section.
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| Persons will set up shop according to the numbers written on the roadway |
“We already spend hundreds of thousands in stuff,” Abrahams lamented. “Plus we are all single mothers. I didn’t buy anything for me or my children, I invest all the money.” They intend to sell drinks, and a variety of food items.
A short distance away, Kaieteur News met the Wills and Welch families. Wills had purchased a spot from the Town Clerk’s quarters, but when he came to check on his spot yesterday afternoon, he was surprised to see the Welchs already setting up tents in his area.
Mrs. Welch said she was assured that the spots were not for sale. “Now we come today and it is this problem.” Luckily, the Wills and Welchs are relatives, so they were able to settle their matter amicably. But Mr. Welch wasted no time in expressing his disappointment at the ongoing City Hall dispute. “This is family yes, but what about other people. How will they resolve their matter?”
“Why can’t they just work in the interest of the people?”
Mr. Welch said that for nights his wife had not slept properly because she feared exactly what they were now experiencing. He said she was so concerned that she did not spend all the money she had originally intended to.
Another vendor who gave his name as ‘George’ said that if he could, he would get his money back and forget it all, “because it’s not worth it.” He was at the time helping his daughter to unpack her items at her spot. He said that she paid for her location, but he was sure that someone would eventually come to claim the area, since it is a prime spot.
George maintained that “this mash spot confusion is recipe for disaster.” He predicted that there would be much confusion, “and the end result is ordinary people fighting when we are all just looking to make a living.”
In the meantime, the Town Clerk is adamant that vendors who are occupying spots that were not paid for will have to move. And even if they occupy another spot that is not paid for they will still have to pay for that space. She said no spot is being offered for free and persons will have to pay like everyone else or they will be dealt with by the “Constabulary and the national police.”
The Town Clerk said that the Head of the Constabulary, Andrew Foo, had advised that he was unsure where he stood in the bickering between the Administrative arm and the Executive, but he told this publication that on the ground, the ranks would have to adhere to the Town Clerk.
The Deputy Mayor, Patricia Chase-Green, is also the Chairman for the Social Development Committee. She had told this publication that should someone occupy a space that was paid for, the individual would be asked to move, since the person who paid would have to be given priority.
The Deputy Mayor said that for years the committee has been handling the Mash proceedings in the form of a social activity which aids in after the Mash clean up and other areas. It was never an economic event, she charged, before slamming the Town Clerk for the “exorbitant” spot prices being offered.
Both the Executive and Administrative arms say that they will be on the ground today. “It can only be imagined what will play out tomorrow (today),” a vendor charged.
source : kaieteurnewsonline
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