THE Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources has called recent claims made by Potter's Cay Dock vendors, who lost their stalls to a destructive fire earlier this month, "misleading".

Several vendors told The Tribune on Wednesday they have yet to receive the promised assistance from the government since the April 11 blaze and further accused the Minnis administration of “dragging their feet” on the issue.

Vendors also claimed the government pledged to have an assessment carried out of the area, but has not yet done so nor made it clear when rebuilding will begin in the area.

Yesterday, the ministry labelled their comments as “misleading”, insisting that communications were made relating to all of the vendors’ concerns about the way forward.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources noted the comments made by vendors at Potter’s Cay Dock to the media and wishes to clarify for the public that claims made were misleading,” the statement read.

“The ministry met with vendors and representatives of both vendor associations on the morning following the fire –12th April, 2021 with a view to plan the immediate response to the fire and the way forward.

“A request for proposals for the clean-up of the site was submitted through the government’s eProcurement Portal on Wednesday, 14th April, 2021 upon receipt of the incident report from the Royal Bahamas Police Force Fire Branch. Responses to the request came almost immediately.

“Before the contract for the clean-up could be awarded and executed, the vendors along with outsiders, including political personalities, began clean-up of the site. Debris remains in the water behind the stalls and will be removed as a part of the clean-up exercise.”

In the statement, the ministry also spoke of plans to have an assessment carried out of the area as was previously noted to the affected vendors.

Officials said this will be conducted by structural engineers attached to the Ministry of Public Works and could take “a few weeks” to be completed.

“This report is critical in determining what the safety implications are for the site as some of the supporting steel in the causeway may have been compromised by the fire,” officials continued.

“This report is also critical to service providers such as Bahamas Power and Light, the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and REV Cable Bahamas as they must be assured that the area is safe for the installation of their equipment.

“It was also agreed by the vendors and government officials that we would build back better and use the new stall design as the template for the future redevelopment of Potter’s Cay Dock. Further, as a temporary solution, Mr Matthew Rolle suggested an alternative short-term location for the vendors in the area near the former Produce Exchange.

“This idea was accepted by all the vendors present, including Mr Dwain Bastian, who went on to request that he be allowed to set up operations in the area where the reefer coolers are located. At no time was it ever suggested by the ministry that vendors be relocated to the building that housed the former Produce Exchange ‘next to chemicals’ as Mr Bastian stated.”

“The ministry advised the vendors that given the fact that there remains a number of unoccupied stalls at Potter’s Cay Dock, we would speak to the lease holders of those stalls about allowing the affected vendors to occupy them temporarily. The vendors are fully aware of this situation.”

The ministry said officials have no intention to see “displaced vendors” left out of work, they must also do their due diligence to ensure that all the proper protocols are followed before rebuilding begins.

“Most importantly we pledged financial support in helping vendors rebuild their stalls and will commence once we get the all-clear from the technical teams,” the ministry added.

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