Rules Ignored at Finnegan Market, Mayor Steps In

We’ve been tracking the ongoing friction between wholesalers and retailers at the Michael Finnegan Market, and tonight, the city’s mayor is weighing in. According to Mayor Bernard Wagner, the heart of the problem isn’t confusion, it’s compliance. The mayor says the City Council has clear rules in place, with specific days set aside for wholesalers to sell at the market. But he admits those rules aren’t always being followed. Wagner says the council is now stepping in, determined to protect small retailers who depend on the market to make a living. Here’s what the mayor had to say about how the city plans to enforce the rules and restore order at the market.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“It is about compliance. It is a compliance issue. It is about respecting each other’s time. If we have a  time Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for wholesalers and we have Thursday, Friday, Saturday for retailers how can we entertain where the same wholesaler who sells the retailers can come on a retailer day to sell and undersell a retailer. That is not fair for the small man. So, through this intervention we are focusing on insuring that the small retailer in the market is not pushed out by the big wholesaler.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So how do you all plan to address it on the ground, communication?”

 

Bernard Wagner

“Both, communication and enforcement and we have been very adamant about it. You got to respect it.”

 

Mayor Wagner says the council will ramp up its communication and enforcement efforts at the Michael Finnegan Market shortly.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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