Association President Proposes Reduced Rent For Vendors

President of the Saint Lucia Craft and Dry Goods Vendors Association, Peter ‘Ras Ipa’ Isaac, has addressed the issue of whether vendors’ rental fees should be waived during the low tourism season. He believes such a measure would not be easy for the authorities to implement. However, Isaac suggested that a 50% reduction could offer relief to both the vendors and the association, helping to reduce arrears. “In my opinion, I don’t know how feasible is something like this; like when there are ships you would pay $20 and when there are ships you don’t pay,” he told St. Lucia Times. “What I think should happen is during the slow season is some arrangement must be made to waive some percentage of the rental because it would be a win-win for both sides that if there is a 50% reduction in terms of rental at the low season then we would accumulate less arrears during that period,” the Vendors Association President observed. Isaac emphasized that since the onset of COVID-19, local vendors have struggled significantly. The pandemic halted international travel and disrupted the local economy, negatively impacting vendors at the arcade in Castries. “Since COVID-19 began, the regular off-season has...