The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Not surprised that the Straw Business Persons Society is upset with Works Minister Desmond Bannister and the Straw Market Authority for making the unpopular decision to close down the market for much needed maintenance work. With the Spring Break season beginning this week, the scheduled closure between February 23rd to February 29th couldn't have come at a more inopportune time for irate straw vendors, who are carrying on like they are living from hand to mouth, which is difficult to believe, seeing that the rental fee at the market is only $37.50 per week. If straw vendors are having grave difficulty in meeting their rent obligations, then they should give serious consideration to finding another job. In July 2018 Bannister complained to The Tribune that some of the vendors had rent arrears in the thousands, due to years of delinquency.

Apparently, successive governments had pandered to this group of entitled business persons by turning a blind eye. With Nassau's booming economy, this is totally unacceptable. Downtown Bay Street is always teeming with tourists, which leads to the following question: What time would've been ideal for vendors to close down the market for remediation work? Even had Bannister chosen a slow period, vendors would still complain, because that's what they do best.

Another vexing problem with vendors is that many of the trinkets being sold at the Bay Street Straw Market are being imported from China, with little straw work being produced in the country, like in the bygone era when the straw market was truly Bahamian. Consequently, the straw market is really a Chinese trinket store.

On the Facebook political page named Blame Dem, photos of inside the straw market were posted, showing piles of rubbish left behind by the straw vendors who are raising hell about the closure. The rubbish is a health hazard and a haven for rodents such as disease ridden rats and centipedes. How could straw vendors work under such nasty conditions?

For this issue alone, the straw market should've been immediately shut down by the Department of Environmental Health Services. In summation, straw vendors simply need to do better!

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport,

Grand Bahama,

February 25, 2020.