DOING RIGHT BY VENDORS

There are issues confronting the nation regarding vending and yesterday, Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds, in a walk-through of areas in Bridgetown, spoke to vendors and small business owners to hear and see firsthand their concerns.

Minister Symmonds was accompanied by Alister Alexander, President of the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN); Eddy Abed, President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI); and other officials, as he visited the City.

The minister explained that Government was trying to wrestle to the ground some issues that had been plaguing the vending and small business community in Bridgetown from the time he was a little boy going to school.

“The fact of the matter is that the Ministry is now working on the closing stages of our discussions on a new piece of legislation, which will empower vendors in Barbados and make sure we give them rights for the first time,” explained the minister.

Symmonds explained that the legislation would ensure that the business owners would be taken care of legally and consulted if they are asked to leave their current location.

“That person would have the benefit of making sure that their goods are not damaged and if in fact they are damaged by the police or whoever moves the product or produce, then that person would be entitled to compensation. We want to give them a body of rights and treat them as business people in a way that they have not been treated before,” said Symmonds.

The minister also highlighted the establishment of vending zones, a tactic which will be employed to help alleviate some of the spacing issues between the vendors and store owners.

“We also want to create special zones for vending in Barbados and make sure that those zones are places where they are properly prepared for consumers to interface with the vendors and for the vendors to be able to do what they have to do,” outlined Symmonds.

One of the areas being worked on with regards to the vending business space improvement is providing proper bathroom facilities and running water. Symmonds stated that many vendors are unable to access these necessities as they go about servicing customers and it needed to change.

“We have to do better than that, not only for ourselves as Barbadians but also because we want it to be a tasteful product for tourists, once they start to return,” said Symmonds.

Another concern mentioned by some of the vendors to the minister, was the lack of adequate parking for the vendors. He highlighted that when produce got low, vendors would have to trek long distances to their vehicles in order to replenish stock in the trays. Symmonds said he believed that discussions with the Royal Barbados Police Force about providing special parking permits to help alleviate that inconvenience would be significantly beneficial to the vendors. (AS)