Mayor, councillors flayed for ‘stymieing’ progress at City Hall

Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud on Monday tore into City Mayor Hamilton Green and his councillors for stymieing moves by the town clerk to send Public Relations Officer Royston King on leave and to remove street vendors from Regent Street. Persaud was at the time speaking at a news conference at his Kingstown office.

He said despite efforts by Acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba to root out corruption and iron out the age-old issues affecting the municipality, Green and his clique of councillors continue to resist. He alluded to recent attempts by the acting town clerk to rid Regent Street of all the illegal vendors along the pavements.
Last week, Sooba had ordered that all vendors operating on the pavements along Regent Street be removed with immediate effect, contending that it was illegal and obstructed the flow of traffic. But, the mayor reversed the decision, saying that Sooba does not have the power to do so independent of the council. He said that alternative systems must be instituted before such actions are taken.
Nevertheless, the minister maintains the view that vending along the pavements is illegal, positing that the courts had condemned such actions in the past and ordered the Mayor and City Council to clear the pavement after corporate citizens turned to the legal system to vent their dissatisfaction.
“But, it seems as if we are heading once again, to a culture of lawlessness supported by the municipality of Georgetown,” the local government minister lamented as he made reference to the mayor.
Turning his attention to the ongoing protest at the City Council, Persaud said despite continuous efforts by the acting town clerk to resolve the issues plaguing the municipality such as the recent payments of salaries, regrettably, workers continue to take industrial action and reportedly moved to shut the doors of the Stabroek and La Penitence markets on Monday for a short period.
He said this comes at a time when the council continues to put up a barrier, thereby affecting the livelihoods of residents. “Citizens of Georgetown continue to be on the receiving end of lack of services, encumbrance to their pavements, enforcement seems missing, and at the same time, the conflict of the council is played out in the open and on the streets.”