Unlicensed vendors renting deckchairs or selling food and drink to tourists are facing possible court action after officers swooped on Seven Mile in a new clampdown on illicit trade.
Beach inspectors ordered all traders off Public Beach last week, finally taking enforcement action following months of complaints. A stash of booze, believed to be being sold illegally, was also confiscated during the raid.
Any traders still operating at the beach next week can be arrested and brought to court and have their wares confiscated and destroyed.
‘Cease and desist’ notices were issued to 17 different vendors during the 16 March enforcement operation, led by the Public Lands Inspectorate but also involving police, immigration and business enforcement officers.
The bulk of the vendors – who are awaiting a decision on permit applications to regularise their presence at the beach – were given seven days to move on or face prosecution.
That time limit expired on Thursday and if they are back at the site when the cruise ship tourists descend on Seven Mile on Monday, they risk arrest, according to the Public Lands Inspectorate.
Four vendors – who have not submitted applications for licenses – were already liable to be arrested and charged since those enforcement notices were issued last week.
The cease and desist letters require the vendors to vacate the premises immediately and inform them that failure to do so will result in prosecution and the loss of their property.
Permit process in limbo
Cabinet has yet to announce the approval of a planned permitting process which would allow the Public Lands Commission to grant or deny vendor applications. That is expected to happen in the coming weeks.
But chief enforcement officer Winsome Prendergast said the raids and enforcement action were necessary now, amid continued complaints from the public about illegal trading and drug and alcohol use at one of the islands’ most popular tourist attractions.
“While there are vendors operating from the location for many years and who wish to be compliant, and who have taken the necessary steps in applying for a vendor permit, the fact still remains that they were not issued with a vendor permit,” she said.
Officers from the police, the Department of Commerce and Investment, WORC and Customs and Border Control were part of last week’s operation.
The lack of a formal policy for licensing vendors has led to chaotic scenes at the beach and left vendors themselves frustrated as they seek official permission to operate
Public lands inspectors say they waited five years before taking action. The unit was given a remit to tackle unlicensed trading on the beach from 2018. COVID and the closure of tourism for two years put the issue on the back burner but as the cruise ships returned so did the vendors.
In October last year, the Compass reported on a thriving, unlicensed trade taking place at the site with vendors taking over the public cabanas to sell everything from jerk chicken to jet-skis. We also reported allegations of illicit alcohol sales, harassment of tourists and drug use at the beach.
A handful of vendors were understood to have tacit authorisation to be there from the previous government, but no-one is officially licensed.
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So once again, in life, there are the people, in this case, the merchants, who are obeying the law. “Generally, any person that carries on a trade or business in or from within the Cayman Islands must hold a licence (a T&B licence) issued under the Trade and Business Licensing Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the T&BL Act) in respect of each location from which such trade or business is being carried on. Then some feel they are above the law. Which says what to the ones following the law. One of the reasons that many families stopped going to some of the other islands was because of the “peddlers” who did nothing but pester the tourists even targeting the children.. Some to the point of “you bought from him, now buy from me.” Never went back there. It has NEVER been that way in Cayman, which is why families feel comfortable and safe in Cayman. You open Pandora’s box when you allow something not in the law book. I hope never to see the day that Cayman permits peddlers on the beach and now requires the RCIPS resources to patrol the beach. I know you will lose some family tourism. Do you need to realize why so many families visit Cayman? It’s called Law & Order, which provides safe and peaceful conditions in society.