BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AFTER vending for almost a decade, three local entrepreneurs have been given notice by the Physical Planning Department to remove their mobile business from the periphery of the Independence Square.
According to the proprietor of I-Queen, an ice-cream parlour, in September 2013 she was served a notice, which stated that the department has plans to initiate a zoning system for vendors in the Basseterre area and she would no longer be permitted to ply her trade in the vicinity of Independence Square.
This initiative would have seen the removal of the vendors, who would have to find a new location somewhere in the Basseterre district. But since the deadline has passed in December 2013, the business owner said that she has not found a suitable place to conduct her business.
“We received the letter from the Planning Department and it said that they have seen a number of establishments popping up around Basseterre and they are trying to control such acts of vending, and they are now looking into zoning vendors in different areas,” the business owner explained to SKNVibes Business.
She added that although she prefers to do business at the square, she did make a number of checks throughout the city and forwarded the information to the department, but the entity has not responded since.
“Last month one of the field officers came out to see us and said to us, ‘Yes, in fact we are looking at zoning people and the legislation is not quite where it needs to be to relocate people as yet.’ But they wanted to give us a heads-up as to the possibility of moving people around,” I-Queen said.
The owner said that she has no problem with the zoning initiative drafted by the Planning Department, but, based on the deadline received, it gave the impression that it is a warning for them to remove.
I-Queen revealed to SKNVibes Business that the letter also outlined that they would be removed because they were vending illegally.
“I was like what? We pay our food handlers permit, we pay for our business licence and our electricity, so I don’t see how this becomes illegal vending. But then again I don’t know the illegality of what the letter is saying,” the owner outlined.
When asked by this publication how would her business be affected by the move, I-Queen said that she would prefer a high-traffic area but fears being placed in an isolated location.
“I don’t think I will be removed now…there is still need for more consultation. It’s not going to be a drastic move; there has to be more thought put into the decision. We made a lot of investments to vend here! You just can’t haphazardly chase people, we still have our bills to pay,” the owner said.
Meanwhile, when SKNVibes Business contacted the Physical Planning Department for a comment on the issue, it was stated by an official that the department had drafted an initiative which is about to be implemented.
The source added that the move is to basically regularise the different aspects of vending in and around Basseterre.
“Vending there for seven and a half years by no means would legalise what she has been doing there, because you can be doing something for 100 years and be doing it wrong still,” the official said.
It was also explained that the issue with vending in the Basseterre area has become more problematic due to the large number of businesses operating on the city’s sidewalks.
“The sidewalks cannot be used for what it is intended for and now people are forced out on the road to oncoming traffic just to accommodate vendors who would have taken up, in some cases, the entire space,” the official said.
The source said that the department has also acknowledged the issues where vending activities pose direct danger to people in terms of safety.
“A case in point is that I would have seen a gentleman with one of those meet skewers giving off a lot of heat on the sidewalk with the stuff and cutting off meat and selling to people. That poses a danger because it is a hot surface,” the source explained.
The issue of garbage disposal is another reason, according to the source, that also contributed to the decision of the initiative.
“As the authorised agency, we took a decision to regularise the whole vending activities in Basseterre, and we are in the process of doing that. However, in doing our background check, we found that a number of outlets, mostly those around the square, use electricity connection from SKELEC to facilitate their vending activities, “the source said.
The source said that the department has been in consultation with the power company about their electricity supply to venders in the area.
“Skelec has just put something in place with our advice to provide such outlets to vendors. Those activities must be cleared with us before they can provide such outlets.”
The official added that two of the vendors, including I-Queen, have made appeals to the department and they were permitted to continue vending just after the Christmas season until a decision is made.
“We would have hoped to have the proposal finalised by that time and would have been able to tell them in a definitive way what the alternative would be. Unfortunately, we have not reached that point and that it where it is,” the source said.
The source said that notices were given to only persons who are vending around the square.
“They had notices because of the electricity connection because SKELEC was going to cut them off based on our instructions that they were not authorised to be vending there,” the source said.
Independence Square is one of the main tourist attractions in St. Kitts and the venue is normally frequented by locals for relaxation purposes, courting and as an area for little children to play.
Meanwhile, when this publication asked a number of the vendors if they were served notices of removal, out of the five establishments only I-Queen and another mobile business received letters from the Physical Planning Department.
