This was the reaction of Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Erskine Griffith, yesterday to media reports concerning the relocation of vendors to the Palmetto Street car park in The City.

He said in a statement issued by the Barbados Government Information Service that ministry investigations showed 22 stalls were located at the old Griffith Reliance Building, of which ten were occupied by people plying their trade daily.

"Sunday, the ministry, in order to proceed with renovations at the Griffith Reliance Building, relocated nine of these stalls, with one owner indicating an interest to be relocated elsewhere.

"[Yesterday], six owners have come forward requesting to be accommodated in the present arrangements, even though they had vacated the premises at Griffith Reliance and have been selling elsewhere in Bridgetown for some time now," said Griffith.

Despite this, he said the ministry had agreed to their request and would be accommodating them at Palmetto Square.

"The six remaining stalls belonged to persons who previously vended at the Griffith Reliance site and have been provided with accommodation at the High Street Mall since August 16, 2003, but were encouraged to appear at the Palmetto site [yesterday] to create the impression that they are being disadvantaged," he said.

"These six unused stalls will be removed shortly, since their owners, as stated, have already been provided with accommodation at the High Street Mall."

The minister said the relocation was temporary and that as soon as the facility at the Griffith Reliance Building was completed, vendors would occupy those premises.