San Fernando mayor: Vending permits being organised

San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello has said vendors in the city will receive renewed vending permits in the coming weeks.

In early 2021, the San Fernando City Corporation implemented vending permits allowing some vendors to ply their trade for up to six months.

When the first set of permits expired on September 22, 2021, they were temporarily renewed until after Christmas. Vendors then received a letter on January 5 instructing them to vend only on January 7.

Since then, they have only been allowed to vend on Saturdays as opposed to the three days a week they were allowed to before January.

On Monday, High Street clothing vendors Angelo Campo and Cheryl Lawrence visited Newsday saying they were concerned the corporation was dragging its feet on the issue while they suffered financial losses.

Campo told Newsday, “They said they are giving a chance for now to vend on Saturdays but we find they are taking too long and are taking no steps to a better solution.

“It’s been more than a month (we’ve had no permits)…while the grass is growing, the horse is starving.”

Lawrence lamented being able to vend for only one day a week has not been financially viable.

Campo added, her rent has been due for several weeks.

Lawrence said, “Right now school children are going back out and we haven’t been able to get much. We think we missed a big opportunity.

“We are begging the mayor to have a heart and look at how the country is going because things hard right now.”

Contacted for comment on Tuesday, Regrello told Newsday the corporation has been working to resolve the issue.

But with several staffers quarantined in the past several weeks, Regrello said the process has been moving slower than expected.

He explained, “We have 191 applications (for permits) and what we have to do is go through the list and select the regulars – those who have been operating around San Fernando for quite a while.

“The permits then have to be processed and laminated. I know a considerate amount of them has been done.”

He said some permits may be distributed as early as next week. Once done, Regrello said vendors will be allowed to return to vending on at least three days a week.