By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Straw vendors relocated to Fort Charlotte from Fort Fincastle to facilitate improvements to the latter’s water tower yesterday said they are “suffering” from slow sales and infrastructure challenges.

Speaking to Tribune Business, one vendor said the pace of sales is “discouraging” and disclosed that she only made three for the day totalling less than $30.

“Coming out here in this heat all day to make such little money, it’s very discouraging. There’s five boats in the harbour today. I’ve been here since morning and my first sale was after 12pm. I’ve had three sales for the day - one was $6, the other was $6 and, a while ago, somebody got two bracelets,” she said.

In March, officials from the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC) said vendors would be relocated to Fort Charlotte for four months as complete closure of Fort Fincastle and the water tower was necessary to allow contractors unrestricted access to the site.

The renovations, which began on March 15, were initially expected to be completed by February 2025 but became delayed due to construction interruptions. With the four-month deadline now passed, vendors have become “anxious” as the Government has not disclosed how long their temporary arrangements will be extended.

Miss Annie, a straw vendor originally posted at Fort Charlotte, said the arrival of the additional vendors has made it difficult to make sales to visitors. She said her’s have fallen by over 80 percent with the new arrivals, as guests have to roam through the tents that temporarily host the vendors from Fort Fincastle before reaching their booths.

“I will tell you, dog eating our lunch. They’re eating our breakfast, our lunch and our dinner. Everything goes through I call it ‘Tent City’. Five cruise ships, and I can’t take home a dollar,” said Miss Annie.

“Nobody has said anything to us. Four months for them has passed, and no one has yet come to us and said what’s going to happen about an extension. They told us they’re only here for four months. But no one has come back to us with the courtesy to say what’s going to happen.”

When Tribune Business visited the market yesterday afternoon, several stalls were shuttered while the remaining vendors attempted to sell their goods to the handful of tourists browsing for merchandise.

Miss Annie said several of the booths have been shuttered for weeks as some vendors refuse to open their stalls while sales are so low. Both the relocated and original vendors at Fort Charlotte said sales have been “slow”, while those temporarily placed in tents also complained of damaged goods due to rain leaking though the patched tarps and rodent infestation.

Ms Cartwright, another Fort Charlotte vendor, also raised concerns about bad weather damaging the goods stored by other vendors in tents. She said her sales have also suffered as a result of the additional tenants, and called for the Government to complete the renovations to the Water Tower or give an update on when displaced vendors can return.

“I need to restock. But the money coming in is so small, you can’t use it to restock,” said Ms Cartwright. “They need to finish the repairs and put them back in the place where they used to be. It’s not right for them to displace them like this. What if bad weather comes and ruins their stuff in the tent? They give you a deadline, they should stick to it.”

The $3m contract awarded to SJK Construction in May 2024 includes interior and exterior restoration work to address structural concerns at the long-inactive Water Tower. In March, executive chairman of the Straw Market Authority, Robert Lightbourne, defended the move, describing it as a necessary step toward long-term improvements.

“We want to give access — full, complete access — to that area so that they will deliver for us what we want, what we need,” Mr Lightbourne said.

Officials assured vendors that Fort Charlotte would be promoted as an alternative site to maintain their income, though some were unconvinced. Don Cornish, the AMMC managing director, acknowledged that discussions with vendors were ongoing and that the relocation decision was made in consultation with stakeholders.