Less than 24 hours after scores of vendors of the Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) market were attacked and looted by a gang of individuals in the name of protest, the government has already disbursed millions of dollars in compensation to those who were affected.
On Tuesday, protestors at Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) made their way to Mon Repos where they stormed the market area, destroying stalls, setting vehicles on fire, and stealing goods – resulting in millions of dollars in losses to scores of vendors.
President Dr Irfaan Ali subsequently visited the area where he met with affected persons and assured that they will be fully compensated for their losses.
A subsequent meeting was held with those affected persons at State House that very afternoon.
When INews returned to the Mon Repos market on Wednesday, only a few stands were in operation.
Those vendors indicated that business is slow as many people are fearful to come out following yesterday’s occurrences.
Officials from the government were at the location taking down the names of those who are seeking compensation.
Some vendors indicated that they already received compensation.
One vendor indicated that she received $1.5M in cash for the destruction of her goods and damages done to her vehicle.
Another vendor said received $2M in cash as compensation for the destruction of his bus while another seller received $3M in cash.
Other vendors are currently in the process of submitting their names in order to get compensated.
Meanwhile, President Ali had committed to ensuring those who are responsible for this chaos will be brought to justice.
The protests originated at Golden Grove, ECD over the police killing of 23-year-old Quindon Bacchus. On June 10, the father of one was shot dead during a police operation in the area.
The officer who pulled the trigger in under open arrest. The file on the investigation is expected to the submitted to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the new week.
