The Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) plans to work closely with the Chaguanas Borough Corporation to improve conditions at the Chaguanas Market.
CCIC president Richie Sookhai gave this undertaking when he and other chamber members distributed masks and sanitisers to vendors at the market. He said the CCIC decided on the initiative after the market was closed last Saturday because a vendor had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
During the visit to the market, Sookhai heard complaints from vendors, including Rawle Phillips, who said the meat section has no air conditioning and the abbatoir had been closed for the past three years. Sookhai said the CCIC would start lobbying for basic amenities for the vendors.
Contacted for comment, Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed said the abattoir was supposed to be repaired by the Rural Development Corporation in 2018 but that project had been abandoned. Mohammed said the council would again write to the Corporation to get the project restarted. The mayor said there are plans to upgrade the electrical connections in the market before the end of fiscal 2021. He said the air condition systems will also be upgraded.