Vendors praise Ramdeen, prepare to return to Charlotte St

UPDATE:

PORT of Spain City Hall and Woodford Square came alive with cheers and praise for Opposition senator and attorney Gerald Ramdeen as close to two dozen vendors celebrated their return to Charlotte Street. They met with Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein yesterday.

Ramdeen commended Minister Hosein for supporting the vendors and said the decision was the right one. The Temporary Vendors Market Project was established in 2008 under the Manning administration and later extended under the Persad-Bissessar administration in 2012. On these grounds, Ramdeen said his clients, the vendors, are legally entitled to do business on Charlotte Street.

“On behalf of all of my clients, the vendors and people of Charlotte Street, we have achieved a significant victory today, because without any consultation on the part of the City Corporation and the mayor, a decision was taken which, if it was allowed to stand, these people would not be able to earn a livelihood as of today. Because they know their rights, vending on Charlotte Street will continue from next week.”

Ramdeen said while the terms and conditions of the agreement remain the same, vendors want a proper registration process to ensure greater efficiency. He vowed to continue championing their cause, as concerns were raised in the meeting, over people with criminal records being able to work as vendors. Ramdeen warned Martinez that any action aimed at excluding people would be challenged and such a decision would be counter-productive to the programme’s objective of reducing crime. “There was mention in that meeting that people with a criminal record ought not to be part of this programme – when this programme was designed for those people to ensure they can leave crime and earn an honest living. Any steps the mayor takes to keep persons out of this programme are going against the policy that prime minister Manning put in place, and we will fight that, because it is those people we want to leave the gangs.”

Ramdeen said Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar helped with an eight-page pre-action protocol letter delivered to the mayor’s office yesterday.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Port of Spain City Hall and Woodford Square came alive with cheers and praise for opposition senator and attorney Gerald Ramdeen as close to two dozen vendors celebrated their return to Charlotte Street, after a meeting with Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein this morning.

Ramdeen commended Minister Hosein for his support of the vendors and said the decision was the right one to make. Citing a Cabinet Minute in 2008 under the Manning administration and later the Persad-Bissessar administration in 2012, Ramdeen said his clients, the vendors, were legally entitled to continue their business along Charlotte Street.

He also vowed to continue championing the cause of the vendors, as concerns were raised in the meeting, over persons with criminal records being able to conduct sales as vendors. Ramdeen said the purpose of vending would be to offer persons with a criminal record and difficulty securing employment an opportunity to make an honest living.