The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

STRAW vendors are once again calling for the government to provide a timeline on the re-opening of the Nassau Straw Market, saying it’s “unfair” that other tourism businesses are allowed to operate while their place of employment remains closed.

Straw Vendors Advancement Association president Celestine Eneas told The Tribune yesterday that since the market was ordered closed due to COVID-19 over a year ago, vendors have yet to hear from officials when they can return to work.

“It’s been 16 months and we really need them to open that market,” she said. “We heard the chairlady on the news last night and she was saying she don’t know when the market is going to open.

“But someone in the (Straw Market) Authority needs to say something because after all, we deserve to at least know when we’re going back to work because it been too long. People’s bills are piling up.

“It sounds like what she saying is the market is too crowded. The market is not too crowded. We have 300 and something vendors registered there, but we don’t have 300 and something vendors out there. We have instances where one person using two and three stalls but they just don’t listen.”

Ms Eneas said it’s a situation that has disheartened workers who cannot even benefit from the tourists visiting downtown this summer season.

“The (foreigners) are making up all the money on Bay Street,” Ms Eneas said yesterday.

“The government allowed them to have the souvenir stores so I don’t understand why should the foreign man come here and catch the pie and we can’t even get a piece of bread.”

According to the association president, trying to make ends meet continues to be a daily struggle for workers.

She said while vendors are currently receiving some $100 a week in social support from the government, it’s still not enough.

“It can’t even pay our water bill,” she said. “And I’m sure the vendors would welcome additional assistance but we need that market open. There’s no reason why the market can’t open. Why should the government pay a full staff for 16 months and we in the market sitting down doing nothing?

“A whole staff is being paid and we can’t get back in the market. People losing their houses. They losing their cars. Vendors begging and sleeping on the beach because landlords are putting them out.”

Yesterday, head of the Straw Business Persons Association Rev Esther Thompson shared similar sentiments.

“We definitely need more social assistance. I feel like the government is not treating the vendors good. When you take out VAT out of the $100, they give to us, that’s $88,” she said.

And with the government’s attention now fixed on the upcoming election season, vendors fear their calls for help will fall on deaf ears.

In February, Works Minister Desmond Bannister told reporters representatives from the Straw Market were consulting with health officials concerning the market’s re-opening protocols.

“The Straw Market Authority is constantly seeking advice from the Ministry of Health and that’s why I indicated to you that we have to do some modifications inside. The way that we did things in the past can’t be the way we do things in the future,” he said at the time.

“It has to be a primary concern that the vendors in there are safe. It has to be a primary concern that the visitors to this country are safe and so there will be some procedures in there that will be discussed with vendors and those things will have to be put in place.”