Latest update March 24th, 2025 7:05 AM
East Bank hire car drivers still awaiting restoration of parking area from M&CC
– Mayor says Council awaiting paint to proceed
Sections of the East Bank Car Park.
Kaieteur News – Hire car/short drop drivers at the East Bank Park located at the Stabroek Market area are still awaiting the restoration of their allocated parking spaces where they would usually assemble to pick up passengers. This was revealed by one of the drivers who spoke to Kaieteur News yesterday. He said that the Mayor, Ubraj Narine, has failed to honour his commitment to have their parking space restored.
Narine had engaged with the drivers after they complained of being removed from their parking spaces by police ranks. This, they said, left many of them without work, struggling to survive and provide for their families during this Christmas season.
This newspaper had also reported on the drivers’ complaints about beer stands occupying the space they were moved out of even though the police had moved them to clear the road. The beers stands are characterized by the setting up of old refrigerators packed with ice to cold the beers on sale complemented by benches where persons sit to hang out, according to the drivers.
On December 1 last, over 60 drivers met with the Mayor and there they were told that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council would restore their allotted area for parking, enabling them to gain income and sustain their families.
Kaieteur News contacted the Mayor yesterday to query about the restoration of the area. He explained that the Council has not acquired the right paint to cover the no parking sign that was placed there, hampering the drivers from parking.
He said that the Council had gotten paint but it was not the correct one and despite efforts to locate the correct paint at several local establishments, they could not. He said the Council is still trying to locate the paint and the no parking sign would immediately be repainted as soon as they acquire it.
Currently, only five to six cars can occupy a small space that has been designated to the drivers, leaving the majority of them without work. The drivers expressed disappointment in being removed from their parking area and being replaced by beer stands. “It is unbelievable. As a small man, you come out for your daily bread only to have your income shut off. Is madness! If we get removed and the road was still clear then we woulda understand, but these people selling beers and liming in the middle of a pandemic. Is it not slackness? It is,” one of the drivers had said.
They are contending that the Mayor was supposed to repaint the area since December 6 and weeks later, they are struggling to make ends meet in the middle of a pandemic.
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