Dear Editor,

THE bizarre, brutish and daft action by the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown (M&CC) against two Water Street shipping companies last Tuesday — which saw them blocking the movement of container-laden trucks from the companies’ city wharves over a $25,000 shipping container tax — shows the greed, disrespect for legal decisions, and barbaric nature of the Town Clerk and the dark forces at City Hall.

This latest move by City Hall is clearly a vulgar reaction to what happened less than two weeks ago, after the proposed $25,000 “Container parking” fee was thrown out of court.
Royston King’s account that this move is merely aimed at commencing repair works to the roads is sheer poppycock.
Evidently, this Council is anti-business. Why else would it send City Constables to place barricades outside the entrances of Muneshwer’s and John Fernandes Limited on Water Street, rather than inviting officials of those companies for discussions, the same way the Town Clerk invites John Fernandes Limited to sponsor Environmental Community Health Organization (ECHO) initiatives, or Muneshwer’s to sponsor other projects?

King, who is not a lawyer, is clearly misunderstanding and misquoting Sections 274/76 of the city’s by-laws to suggest that the Council is entitled to fees from those persons who use roadways, street parapets, and spaces owned by all citizens of the city. It was the same twisted logic he used when he tried, and failed, to extract $25,000 and $6,000 from business owners in downtown Georgetown for each additional day they parked containers in front of their premises for the purpose of offloading goods they shipped in.

King’s assertion that City officials are not getting back at the companies at reference really, but are rather trying to do maintenance and other critical works to the roadways in the city is laughable. Why then does he not charge the ‘bush trucks’ and the sand trucks traversing the city? Why does he not block ‘King Fish’ from parking 24/7 and selling at the corner of King and Regent Streets?

The problem is that every time legal action has to be taken against the Council, it costs the person who has to take Council to court, and it costs the citizens of Georgetown for mounting a defence; but members of the Council could not care less, because the money is not coming out of their pockets, but rather those of the citizens. But most of all, it is a waste of the court’s time.

This man was the Council’s PRO for several years, but did nothing to protect the image of City Hall. As a matter of fact, he was at odds with all the previous town clerks, and even the former mayor, all because he wanted so badly to get into that seat. The man is thought to be the laziest and most arrogant officer at City Hall.

DEODARIE PUTULALL