A group of vendors is trying to get permission to ‘set up shop’ on Norman Manley Boulevard in the vicinity of Riu resort in Hanover to sell foodstuff to the workmen on a major construction project there.
The resort is undergoing renovation.
The main reason for trying to get permission to temporarily use a section of the soft shoulder on the roadway is for the vendors to get portable toilets set up if they are officially allowed to temporarily operate at the desired location.
The area that some vendors are presently using to sell their food items is in front of a property that is reportedly owned by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), and some of the vendors encroached on the ‘UDC property’ and were removed.
However, the vendors say they want to ensure that they are operating within a legal framework.
Some 13 vendors have formed a group which is lobbying the relevant Government agencies to get permissions to be allowed to sell on the specific section of the roadway.
A representative of the group said they have spoken to the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), the UDC and the Hanover Municipal Corporation to see what can be done to facilitate their desired initiative, including having sanitary convenience in the vicinity of the location.
One of the group’s founders, Silvia Stennett, said some persons sell cooked food at the location, and need to have sanitary convenience in place.
“We need permission so that we can get portable toilets. We’re cooking food, so we want to have sanitary convenience. We don’t want another ‘Alice’ like in Kingston, or like in Montego Bay. We are decent Jamaican citizens,” she said.
The Hanover Municipal Corporation has reportedly advised that it is not in control of the use of the roadway at Norman Manley Boulevard or the property which the vendors presently occupy, thus the corporation cannot give the permission the vendors are seeking.
A representative of the corporation said that any permission that is required for use of the roadway would have to come from the UDC or TPDCo, or possibly the National Works Agency (NWA).
However, if all the relevant agencies agree to the proposal from the vendors, the municipal corporation would need to ensure that any structure that is erected meets certain standard.
The corporation is also responsible for issuing vendors’ licences, but according to the representative, that would be done once the vendors get permission to use the area where they are now operating.
Several calls were made to the UDC and TPDCo in relation to the vendors’ request, and representatives said the entities looking into the matter in detail to see what, if anything, can be done to accommodate the request.
