‘Tent City’ vendors deny defiance of removal order
The vendors, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said they had received letters on November 28, 2012 asking them to stop selling at the pier and to have all their belongings removed by December 5, 2012 latest.
They further related that it was on November 29, 2012 that they were given keys to the newly constructed buildings at the Crafts Alive compound located on Waterfront Drive. “How can you give someone a key on one day and expect them to remove immediately to another location?” one vendor questioned while insisting that time was needed for vendors to relocate.
According to the vendors, some persons asked City Manager Mrs Janice Brathwaite-Edwards whether they could continue to ply their trade at the pier dubbed ‘Tent City’ until the deadline for removal and were told that they could do so. This is in contrast to reports which stated that the vendors were all supposed to remove by November 28, 2012.
Meanwhile, concerns remained high about persons with trade licences being allocated spots at the revamped Crafts Alive village to the detriment of others who were at Tent City as much as 10 years before these persons and were also in possession of trade licences.
Vendors further stated that they were happy about the relocation to a permanent place and have continued to comply with the order for removal noting that they no longer had to remove their items each time they left for the day. Some suggested that other vendors may have even had transportation issues with the removal of their structures.
Calls to Hon. Vanterpool and Mrs Brathwaite-Edwards for any comments they wished to make on the issue were not returned up to post time.
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13 Responses to “‘Tent City’ vendors deny defiance of removal order”
The point is that the time has come to get rid of the tents and move to the premises that the taxpayers have grudgingly provided. I don't want to hear about "transportation problems". These people are getting ridiculous now. If all of them pool their resources, I am sure they can manage to pay one truck driver to collect everything and remove it, one time.
Do the taxpayers have to hold your hand and pay ALL your bills forever, or are you going to stand on your own two feet and stop asking us to dig into the public coffers to help you ~ AGAIN? When was the last time YOU paid business tax or even personal income tax?
Give me a break! If the tents aren't gone by the 5th, I believe government should confiscate them and GIVE them away to any taxpayers who want them. I could use one or two, provided they are free!
We the people of Tortola had enough of this UGLY EYESORE
So STOP TALKING TWADDLE and just BE GONE.... Strupps