Port Vila Market House is now open to the public again.
This came about after some renovations over the past few months.
According to Port Vila City Council Public Relations Officer Ricky Binihi, there are a few new rules in place for vendors to follow.
Mr Binihi says only 50 tables are allocated to 50 villages and offshore islands around Efate. He says all the vendors around Efate know about their turns to sell at the Market.
The PRO touches on cleanliness and explains that all greens and vegetables should be cleaned in the villages before being brought to the Market.
As an example, the Port Vila City Council will not allow mothers to husk green coconuts in Port Vila. Fish will not be sold in the Market vicinity until Port Vila City Council have their own equipment to preserve fish. Fish will be sold at the Fish Market next to Au Bon Marche Tebakor.
Mr Binihi encourages customers to point to what they need and maintain social distancing, as their wanted produce will be place on a table to be viewed. He encourages a distance of 1.5 meters at all times.
Mr Binihi once again says cleanliness is a must and all cooked food vendors must observe the rules.
He says all vendors come early in the morning and have all morning until 6.30 pm to sell their produces. The market will be closed at 7pm every day. From 7 to 9pm the staff of the Market will clean the Market house for use by vendors the next day.
Another change Mr Binihi mentions is that sleeping is now prohibited at the market house.
Madeline Jimmy, a market vendor, says she is happy to see the market opened once again. The Teouma resident says during the closure of the market house she could only do road side sales at Teouma which did not generate as much as she would earn at the market.
The happy mother of five says today is a happy day for her as her livelihood has now returned.
The lady who has been a vendor since 2006 acknowledges the new rules in place and appreciates why they are there; however, she feels that by restricting the days of sale of an individual vendor would result in less income than in the past.
She is also concerned about unsold goods having to be taken home and going to waste as all vendors would need to leave the market by 6:30 PM.
SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST
