Stabroek Market Wharf continues to collapse…Fallen beam injures handyman

It is apparent that those responsible for the upkeep of the Stabroek Market wharf are awaiting the total collapse of the edifice before any action is taken in relation to its repair. This is despite numerous calls by citizens to have the wharf restored since the dilapidated structure is endangering the lives of the many persons operating in the space.

Ferdinand would be kept overnight for observation.

Market operators expressed anger when a huge beam fell on the head of a well known handyman yesterday afternoon, knocking him unconscious. Up to press time, 40-year-old Charles Ferdinand of East La Penitence, was still a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), nursing a huge gash to the head and injures to the left hand.
At the hospital, Ferdinand was being treated in the trauma section of the Emergency Room. He said that he was seated at the edge of the wharf fishing when he heard the galvanize sheet above his head make a noise. “Before I know it, I just get a hard lash on my head.”
He said that the plank pinned him. He could not have used his left hand since it was injured. Ferdinand related that another person who was also fishing, tried to remove the plank but he could not do it alone. So he raised an alarm which brought other persons to the scene. They took Ferdinand to the hospital.
Several persons expressed their frustration at getting authorities to recognize the danger they face daily. The vendors said that the market has been deteriorating for years, but no one seems concerned. “Until somebody dead at de back here or until de whole wharf float down de river, dem wouldn’t do nothing,” one woman charged.
She told Kaieteur News that when the beam fell, no one knew that the man was hurt. She said that it was not until they started to hear shouts that persons went to the man’s aid. Kaieteur News was told that “piece by piece the wharf is falling apart.”
The woman said that it is not the first time that material has come crashing down, but as far as she

Ferdinand was fishing at the back of this dilapidated stall

is aware it is the first time that someone has been hurt badly.
The dilapidated wharf attracts a crowd every Wednesday morning when people from farming communities outside of Georgetown, come to offload their goods. Customers and retailers flock the unstable area to make cheaper purchases directly from the farmers.
More than 100 persons are said to traverse the area at that time, while there is a regular flow of persons on the wharf each day.
The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is responsible for the upkeep of the market facility, but they had for years been crying broke. Councilor Ranwell Jordan told Kaieteur News yesterday that since last year an agreement was made to address the deteriorating market.
He said, however, that the Mayor and Councilors are not in a position to speak of the Council’s financial status since the Town Clerk’s office is responsible for executing the orders of the Council.
Public Relations Officer Royston King engaged the Clerk of Markets on the matter and later visited the injured man at the hospital.
Acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba said that she was unaware of the matter, but added that it would be looked at. Kaieteur News learnt that the rotten beam was about six feet long and a foot thick. It was thrown overboard in an effort to rescue Ferdinand.