Government should engage in non-cooperation with City Hall

Dec 20, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – The court will decide whether the recent controversial comments made by the Mayor of Georgetown, and for which he apologized, has the potential to excite racial or ethnic hostility. But regardless of what the court decides, the comments have poisoned the relationship between the government and the APNU+AFC dominated and controlled City Council.

It can no longer be business as usual. There has been a genuine attempt by the government to assist City Hall. A number of road and landscape improvement works have been taking place in the City and have been funded by Central government.

Given the recent brouhaha between the government and City Hall, and considering the historical fractious relationship between the two, it is high time that the government defines its future engagement with City Hall.

City Hall is exercising double standards. It was in November that City Hall issued a notice to vendors plying their trade along pavements and outside of markets. The statement reminded vendors that they are required to remove all pallets, trays and other structure at the end of each day.

One Council official went as far as saying that if the vendors did not comply that the municipality will take action. And it was even threatened that those refusing to comply are likely to face penalties.

But as is well known the directives are usually observed in the breach. And some vendors have pointed out it is impractical for them to dismantle their stalls at the end of the day.

The situation with vending has become so chaotic that some business owners have successfully petitioned the court for orders directing the City Council to remove vendors who were vending in front of these businesses. City Hall therefore has at least two rulings from the court which serves as a precedent to direct them to remove vendors who are plying their trade in front of business premises.

But despite this, vendors can still be seen plying the trade in front of established businesses. Some businesses, in order to avoid being swamped by vendors squatting in front of their businesses, have begun themselves to extend their operations to the pavements. In one instance, the pavement is impassable to pedestrians.

The law is therefore on the side of the Council. However, instead of using the law to bring an end to the chaotic situation on pavements, verges and on the side of roads, City Council is now becoming an obstructionist to progress in bringing order to the City.

The situation outside of the Georgetown Public Hospital has long become out of control. No vending at all should be allowed around the precincts of the hospital: not on New Market Street; not on Lamaha Street, not on Thomas Street and not on East Street. It is not only the thoroughfare leading to the entrance of the Emergency Department is a problem. There is also a problem with vending on East Street in front of the entrance to the hospital.

City Council has orders of the court in respect to vending outside of certain businesses. It should use this as a precedent to bring an end to all illegal vending on pavements.

Instead of doing this, City Hall is now in confrontation with the Ministry of Public Works over that Ministry’s decision to remove vending structures outside of the Georgetown Hospital. However, it is not clear how much authority the Ministry has over that area and whether New Market Street is a public road and thus falls under the authority of the Ministry of Public Works.

What is disconcerting are the actions taken by the City Council which may make the vendors feel, whether rightly or wrongly, that City Council is supportive of what they are doing in that area. Already, however some of the vendors have disappeared from the area. They are not waiting on any resolution.

But this entire incident has soured further relations between City Hall and the government. The government should go into a non-cooperation mode with City Hall.

This should not however involve the government abdicating its responsibilities to the municipality. The government should pay its rates and taxes and do so on time. The government should also pay a fair subvention based on the formula established in law. But all other assistance to City Hall should cease.

If City Hall does not remit, as required by law, the National Insurance Scheme contributions for its workers, then the NIS should take the municipality to Court. If City Hall does not remit the income taxes of its employees to the Guyana Revenue Authority, then the tax agency should not be lenient with City Hall. If City Hall does not pay its electricity bill, then it should be disconnected from the national grid.

The Ministry of Public Works must also cease all public works which it is executing within the City of Georgetown at taxpayers’ expense. The City Hall should be allowed to manage the City without any assistance from government, other than that which the government has to provide by law.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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