Vendors selling on the sidewalk in the town of Spaldings. - George Henry

Vendors in Spaldings, Clarendon have called on the Clarendon Parish Council to speed up the process to

have the new market, under construction from as far back as 2005, completed so as to reduce encounters with the police.

l vendors complained to THE STAR that they were tired of the police confiscating or destroying their goods in their bid to get them to sell in the Minnie Clarke Transport Centre. The vendors said the transport centre is woefully inadequate, as it lacks amenities such as sanitary conveniences and stalls.

recent weeks

Over recent weeks, the police in Spaldings have been forcing vendors to sell at the transport centre, but many have been adamant that they will not as the facility is in a poor state.

However, their refusal to sell in the makeshift market has forced the police to take a zero-tolerance approach to selling on the streets of the town. Goods are being confiscated to the annoyance of the vendors.

not pleased

Patrick Forbes, who has been selling in Spaldings for more than 12 years, told THE STAR he is not pleased with the approach being taken by the police.

"I am not pleased with what is happening to us. We need the authorities to take the necessary steps to have the market completed, so that we can stop selling out here. There is no market available for us to sell in, and so the police should not be harassing the vendors like this," said Forbes.

Forbes is calling on the police to have a heart because not much vending can take place at the Minnie Clarke Transport Centre, as it was not constructed for that purpose.

Another vendor said the old market facility, which was demolished to make way for the new one, should not have been destroyed before proper planning was in place to have the work, which has been stalled for more than four years now, completed.

She blamed the Clarendon Parish Council, as well as political representatives for the area, for not making proper representation in seeing to the completion of the project. Michael Stern member of Parliament, said it was not so.

He told THE STAR he has been having dialogue with the Clarendon Parish Council to have the work completed, and an undisclosed sum has been identified to have it restarted and completed over the next year.

estimated cost

Last year, Stern told THE STAR that the estimated cost for the construction of the market was $45 million. He explained that $27 million was already spent on the first phase of the project.

He noted that the Clarendon Parish Council, one of 14 island- wide municipal authorities which are already cash-strapped, should have contributed the majority of the funding for the second phase. He pointed out that foundation was now in place for the next phase of the work.