-as concerns raised over student safety

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Priya Manickchand has announced that there will be no vending on Woolford Avenue, following continued consultations with vendors and more than 10 learning institutions located along the busy Georgetown avenue.

In a Facebook post issued on Friday, the minister said schools raised concerns about the conduct of some vendors.

“We learnt some unsettling things including that some vendors were inappropriately speaking to and touching students, that illicit items like vapes and alcohol were being sold to the minors,” she noted in her post.

She also said there were instances of vendors allegedly directing abusive behaviour at school staff when rules, including restrictions on vending during instructional hours, were being enforced.

However, Manickchand acknowledged that not all vendors were viewed negatively by the schools.

She said some vendors had become a positive part of the school community by helping students cross the road, giving parents credit for snacks, waiting until children were collected before leaving and offering food at prices lower than school canteens.

Following the consultations, some schools opted to accommodate vendors who had previously demonstrated what they considered to be cooperative behaviour by allowing them to operate within school compounds.

The remaining vendors were instructed to remove their caravans, carts and other vending structures from the avenue.

Manickchand also raised concerns over electricity connections used by vendors, saying she was “highly disturbed” to learn that some meter connections had been sanctioned through official letters from the Georgetown City Council.

She said it was hoped that the issuance of such letters would cease immediately.