CATEGORY:SIDEWALK VENDING
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By Trevor Thwaites (Inside Grenada correspondent)

ST.GEORGE, Grenada - The Environmental Department in the Ministry of Health is very much concerned about the inappropriate conditions under which food s are being offered for sale by some sidewalk vendors in St Georges and the country in general. Over the years, the Ministry has been striving to ensure that the many vendors in their various enterprises exhibit higher professional standards and sanitary practices. This has been the focus of several workshops in recent times.

However, officials are not satisfied with the performance of some vendors. “A number of problems have been identified– obstruction of sidewalks, the use of pieces of tarpaulins that are unsightly an broken down conditions in general”, said Acting Chief Environmental Officer, Andre Worme at a press conference last week Tuesday in the City. This, he said, were among the findings of a tour of the city in July by a contingent of the Environmental Department, the Solid Waste Department and the Royal Grenada Police Force.

Broken down tables and chairs were also identified along with Barbeque grills, which are said to be left at the designated spot after a day’s operation. Worme told the media that this sort of practice will have to stop and appealed to vendors to operate in clean and healthy conditions. He encourages vendors to clean around their surroundings after their daily chores, because cleaning is not the responsibility of the Solid Waste Department. “We are appealing to vendors to ensure that at the end of the day the table and chairs are removed.”

There have also been complaints about the unsanitary conditions of Barbeque grills, which are left on the sidewalk and possess a build up of grease. Rats are said to be seen walking on some of the grills. “The grills should also be removed after the day’s operations. This is definitely untenable. We cannot allow this to continue. Worme has again appealed to vendors to put what they have learnt from the education workshops into practice.