Lucea mayor commits to remove vendors off the streets
Published:Monday | April 25, 2022 | 12:06 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
WITH LUCEA getting a facelift under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s ‘Paint the City, Paint the Town’ project, Sheridan Samuels, mayor of Lucea and chairman of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), has voiced his intention to take the beautification of the town to another level by removing vendors off the streets.
“We have been doing a lot of beautification work in the town itself, but I am going to give the warning to those vendors on the streets out there, that we (HMC) are not going to tolerate you on the streets,” Samuels emphasised, while delivering the welcome address at the recent launch of the free Wi-Fi service in Lucea.
Emphasising that he is going to ensure that the town of Lucea remains peaceful and beautiful, Samuels stated that sidewalks in the town must be clear to facilitate the free movement of people at all times.
“When the students leave school for home, they must have a nice space to walk on the sidewalk. When persons want to go to the police station, the post office and the National Insurance Scheme office, they must have good space to go there. When visitors are passing through the town, they must see a nice sight and a beautiful-looking town,” he stated, as he issued a verbal warning to street vendors that they will have to start using the market to sell their goods.
Pointing out that he is a son of Lucea, born and raised in that town, Samuels argued: “Nobody loves Lucea more than I do, my heart and soul is in this town.
“We do not want to see any tarpaulin hanging out there. We do not want to see clothes hanging against the walls out there to give the town an unsightly look,” the mayor emphasised. “We have fixed and painted the market for you all, and you do not want to go inside there. But you have to go inside there.”
He called on to spread word that the HMC will be going on a drive to remove all vendors from the streets of the town, but did not give a time when that drive will start.
Samuels also issued a warning to all vendors, that they must use the facility in the manner in which it is to be used, and take care of the refurbished facility.
Turning his attention to the section of the market reserved for the selling of fish, he said that area is to be refurbished soon and when that work is completed, all fish vendors within the town must utilise the space in the market.
The Gleaner has learnt that fish vendors are now selling their products at the front of the market, creating an unsightly and smelly environment at that section of the facility.
Samuels opined that his administration has faced many criticisms since taking office several years ago, and it is his intention to correct all mistakes and make changes wherever necessary.