Shouting, “We not Taking That!” vendors at the Namdevco Market in Debe staged a noisy protest on Monday, over a decision to reorganize the market to accommodate haberdashery vendors.
Farmer Esther Maharaj said Namdevco informed the vegetable vendors on Monday that they will be relocated to the front of the market while the haberdashery vendors will be placed in the centre of the market.
Maharaj said this would impact their sales as people usually bypass the front of the market.
“I’ve been selling here for the past 30 years. Now they want to relocate the vendors who sell vegetables and put them in places where the customers will not find them. This market was designed for vegetables, not for clothes. This is unfair to the vendors who sell agricultural produce,” she said.
She noted that the clothing vendors could be placed in the auditorium behind.
“You cannot mix the clothes vendors and the vegetable vendors in the same area,” she said.
Guardian Media understands that Chief Executive Officer Nirmala Debysingh met with the vendors to rectify the issue.
The vendors have signed a petition with 600 signatures, calling for the intervention of Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein.
Guardian Media will update this story as more information comes to hand.
