TWO motor vehicles, promised by President Bharrat Jagdeo to enhance City Constabulary patrols, were delivered Wednesday.

Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall handing over the keys of the two vehicles to Chief Constable Gail George. At right is Acting Town Clerk Yonnette Pluck.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Kellawan Lall handed over the keys to the two, worth $3M, to Chief Constable Gail George, in his Fort Street, Kingston, Georgetown ministry compound.

George expressed her gratitude to the donor and gave the assurance that the patrolling would benefit from the acquisition.
Speaking at the ceremony, Lall acknowledged that policing in the capital is a very important aspect of municipal operations and, recently, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), as well as the Government, had to deal with the consequences of people squatting and selling on the roadsides and the inappropriate methods they are using to dispose of their waste.

He said, to prevent these things from happening, the Bicycle Squad was introduced to help enforce city by-laws which are in place.

The Minister said President Jagdeo sees the donation of the vehicles as a way of assisting in the process and added he is hoping they would be put to use for the purpose intended by Government.

According to him, the vehicles are part of a package in which the Head of State also gave the municipality a number of computers to bolster its information technology (IT) programme that was inaugurated earlier this year.

Lall said another aspect of the assistance is the monthly $10M grant to aid with capital works around the city.

He said he is about to meet with officers of the M&CC to go through the financial records and determine whether any adjustments could be made to the municipal budget.