Vendors miffed over rates and requirements for market kiosks
Some vendors have reportedly expressed complaints about the affordability of kiosks (vending booths) at the new Road Town Market Square which is expected to be officially opened early next week.
City Manager Janice Braithwaite-Edwards confirmed recently that so far, some 17 applications have been received ahead of the opening, but suggested that persons are having challenges with fulfilling the requirements for renting the kiosks.
Some of the requirements for securing kiosks include having a credit reference and banking references, an executive summary of a business plan, a clean police record with no pending convictions for felonies, a valid trade license, and current status in the territory.
The City Manager also attempted to ease some concerns raised and clarified that prospective vendors require a bank reference to secure the kiosks and not a bank statement as part of the criteria. Brathwaite-Edwards said persons will have to meet the necessary requirements ahead of taking up the kiosks at the market square.
“We need to be assured that at the end of the day, the people who actually take these kiosks can afford it to pay for them,” the City Manager said while speaking on ZBVI Radio recently.
Speaking more on the kiosks which comes with a monthly rental cost of $300 and $450, respectively, she added: “So we have people, yes. They are complaining that some of the things are high, but at the end of the day, you have to remember, nothing in this life is free.”
The City Manager noted that while locals and Belongers will be given preference in the selection process for the kiosks, no one will be refused if they do not meet this particular criterion.
In the meantime, BVI News understands that some of the prudence being adopted by officials at this stage stems from the cautionary tale that is the Crafts Alive Village in Road Town.
Our news centre has been reliably informed that the Wickham’s Cay Development Authority is owed somewhere in the region of $500,000 in outstanding rental fees by tenants of the Crafts Alive Village. These rental fees have reportedly been accumulated over a period exceeding a decade.
According to sources, some tenants have paid little to nothing of the $200 monthly rental fees required at that facility and have now been refused access to the buildings.
Some of the requirements for securing kiosks include having a credit reference and banking references, an executive summary of a business plan, a clean police record with no pending convictions for felonies, a valid trade license, and current status in the territory.
Nothing is free
The City Manager also attempted to ease some concerns raised and clarified that prospective vendors require a bank reference to secure the kiosks and not a bank statement as part of the criteria. Brathwaite-Edwards said persons will have to meet the necessary requirements ahead of taking up the kiosks at the market square.
“We need to be assured that at the end of the day, the people who actually take these kiosks can afford it to pay for them,” the City Manager said while speaking on ZBVI Radio recently.
Speaking more on the kiosks which comes with a monthly rental cost of $300 and $450, respectively, she added: “So we have people, yes. They are complaining that some of the things are high, but at the end of the day, you have to remember, nothing in this life is free.”
The City Manager noted that while locals and Belongers will be given preference in the selection process for the kiosks, no one will be refused if they do not meet this particular criterion.
Over half a million owed at Crafts Alive
In the meantime, BVI News understands that some of the prudence being adopted by officials at this stage stems from the cautionary tale that is the Crafts Alive Village in Road Town.
Our news centre has been reliably informed that the Wickham’s Cay Development Authority is owed somewhere in the region of $500,000 in outstanding rental fees by tenants of the Crafts Alive Village. These rental fees have reportedly been accumulated over a period exceeding a decade.
According to sources, some tenants have paid little to nothing of the $200 monthly rental fees required at that facility and have now been refused access to the buildings.
