Foreign Affairs Minister Peter David, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for the Town of St George, wants the Police to exercise more tolerance to what he calls the “small business people” who make an honest living by selling in the city centre.
“Our small business people are very important for our economy and sometimes we downplay their importance in preference to big business,” said Mr David. “Big businesses are important but the small business is as important,” he added.
Mr David, speaking Sunday on a weekly radio programme hosted by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), admitted that better conditions need to be created for the vendors but called for patience.
“The Police have to be more tolerant. I have been getting lots of complaints that the Police are very intolerant to the small vendors.”
He said the authorities must recognise the importance of the vendors to our economy and called on the police to work with them. He said that the vendors are trying to do what all Grenadians are doing, that is, work to make a better life for their family.
“I urge the Commissioner of Police and the Police authority while they must continue to enforce the law, they must be sensitive to the fact that jobs are in scarce supply and when somebody chooses to create their own employment then we should be applauding them rather than running them off the streets and treating them as if they are criminals”.
The MP for the Town of St George described the St George’s Market as an important project which should ease the situation with the vendors who crowd the city centre selling their goods.
“Fortunately for us, the Venezuelans have agreed to build the market. The money has been approved and hopefully very soon we will start that project because we need to fix that market and create a better environment for our vendors,” he said.
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