The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

THE Nassau Straw Market is teeming with Progressive Liberal Party devotees and PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis is cognisant of this. In an act of solidarity, Davis and PLP executives toured the straw market recently and heard the complaints of disgruntled vendors against the Free National Movement administration’s crackdown on delinquent vendors who are failing to pay their $37.50 weekly rental fee.

Davis’ description of the FNM’s and Straw Market authority’s actions as being ‘‘inhumane’’ and ‘‘uncaring’’ is also applicable to the previous PLP government, when former Straw Market authority chairman Ron Pinder suspended 75 vendors at the Bay Street market whose licence fees were in arrears in 2013.

In late 2012 Pinder suspended 14 vendors and 54 vendors respectively within a span of several weeks. With total arrears at $250,000, delinquent vendors’ individual arrears ranged from between $500 to $1,600. According to Pinder, internal investigations revealed that vendors were spending as much as $100 per day in the web shops, yet they had issue paying their $35 weekly fee. In keeping with his no-nonsense policy, Pinder forced delinquent vendors to enter into a financial arrangement in which they would remain current with their $35 fee as well as pay an additional $35 towards their arrears.

The vendors eventually got fed up with Pinder’s hardline stance and decided to use their political clout by lobbying someone within the PLP hierarchy for Pinder’s head. He was promptly dismissed from the Straw Market authority and given a post in the General Registrar’s office. Straw Business Persons Society president Esther Thompson, who I believe is a PLP, was the face for the opposition against Pinder.

In July of 2014, with Pinder no longer being a member of the Straw Market authority, a dozen vendors were evicted from the market for failing to pay their rental fee. Again, Ms Thompson was vocal in her opposition against the evictions.

All of the foregoing evictions occurred under the PLP administration that Davis was very much a part of. I believe Davis and the PLP should stop pandering to these irresponsible vendors, because these people are only hoping for a Davis led administration to continue facilitating their decades-old culture of slackness of not meeting their obligations to their landlord.

They simply need to pay their bills.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport,

Grand Bahama

November 18, 2018