The president of the Bayfront Vendors Association, Roy Romaine, has alleged that the government gave a deadline of May 26 for traders to vacate the Bayfront area. Romaine said executives of trader associations met with the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) and the Minister of Tourism and that it is obvious that they will be displaced from their temporary stalls at Bayfront.
The Minister of Tourism, Denise Charles, however, explained that everything the government does is for the benefits of vendors trading at Bayfront. She made it clear that the current structure at Bayfront is not permanent and that the government is working to design and construct an arcade that will be a permanent facility for trading in the area.
She said with a vendors’ arcade, visitors to Dominica will enjoy a better shopping experience and that traders will have a permanent place of their own. She said the facility will have restaurants and a platform for live music as well as other entertainment to make the place interesting and buzzling for business.
We feel that Bayfront is not a permanent home, and that is why we are focused on building this vendors arcade which will be a permanent dwelling place for vendors. And then we will have restaurants there, a platform for live music entertainment, and so I think that that is the best solution for the current situation right now. To have this permanent structure that can house all our vendors, so all visitors that come by cruise, air, or ferry can go to this vendors’ arcade and shop.
Hon. Denise Charles, Minister of Tourism
According to the tourism minister, the design for the vendors arcade is ready and is undergoing review. She said vendors at Bayfront will also be allowed to review and make inputs into the final arcade design and that consultation is currently ongoing in this regard. She averred that once consultations are complete between government officials and Bayfront traders, the final draft will be approved for construction and work will begin to get the arcade constructed.
Actually, we have a design for it…we’re reviewing the design, and the plan is to have a consultation with the vendors because we need their input; we need to know their vision; whether they like this or that; and so they will have the opportunity to give their inputs into the design. So we’ve started some consultations with them, and so we’ll continue those consultations; once we have finalized the draft designs, it’ll be presented to them; and once they’ve given their inputs, then we’ll have the final designs before going into constructions.
Hon. Denise Charles, Minister of Tourism
This article is copyright © 2023 DOM767
