CASTRIES vendors who are in arrears of over a half million dollars to the Castries Constituency Council (CCC) could be relieved of some of that debt, that is if talks for a debt amnesty that was broached of at a Council meeting becomes a reality.
According to the Council, vendors owed that amount of money over the years, which if collected would go a long way in meeting some of its expenses.
Castries Town Clerk, Vaughan Louis-Fernand admitted that the Council, had discussed such an amnesty. However, nothing concrete had been agreed on.
“I cannot say anything about that (amnesty), except that it was considered by the Council. Details are not available, however we had considered a fresh break with vendors. I cannot say what percentage of the debt will be considered …” Louis -Fernand said.
Mayor Peterson Francis, last week at a meeting with vendors at the vendors arcade in Castries, brought the outstanding debt to their attention by telling them that the Council will soon be moving to recover the outstanding arrears.
Peter “RasIpa” Isaac, President of the Vendors Association has accused the Council of trying to ride roughshod over vendors as a result of this debt. He referred to last week’s meeting as a case in point claiming that the Council, instead of first meeting with the executive of the Association, met instead with vendors, effectively bypassing the executive.
“The vendors formed an association with an executive to represent them. You need to speak with the representative of the vendors first. It’s disrespectful not to do so,” Isaac said.