By Ravin Singh
SEVERAL taxi drivers who operate outside of the Stabroek Market on Thursday staged a protest in front of Public Building to express their dissatisfaction with the way the Georgetown City Council unceremoniously evicted them from that area. Just recently, the Council made a decision to have unregulated commercial activities relocated in an effort to restore the Stabroek area that had become a scene of lawlessness. Among the groups removed from the area indefinitely, were taxi drivers, some of whom were operators for more than 20-30 years. One such person is Allan Simon, who spoke to this newspaper during the protest which attracted the attention of the public.
Evidently upset, but composed, Simon related that he believes his constitutional right, which is that he should be allowed to earn a living, has been violated. “My constitutional right has been violated. It has been violated rudely and bastardly. The constitutional right is not just for Guyana, it is [a] universal right, which is a man does not work, he cannot eat” the man said.
He expressed that he is now being forced to walk the road of starvation, since he is not able to earn. “My last son is four years old and I have a family to maintain. I’ve been working taxi in front of Demico for a little over 20 years and to be treated in this manner is not right,” he told this publication.
The “family man” as he described himself, explained that the City Council did not tell the taxi operators that they would be removed and it was only until Wednesday when he showed up for work, did he realise that they had been unceremoniously evicted from the area.
“I worked up to Tuesday last and came Wednesday only to be told by a rude inspector at City Hall that I cannot come in here [in front of Demico]. I asked her where to park and she said she doesn’t know and walked away” the man said.
Another operator, Joel Lewis, also supported this contention that the Council did not inform the drivers that they would be removed. Plying that trade for over 15 years, Lewis noted that members of the City Constabulary “just came and installed no parking and no stopping signs” in the area. This, he went on to say, prevented the taxi drivers from accessing the area, which is the only central point of operation they know.
Further, he revealed that Constabulary officers had advised them to join taxi services. But according to Lewis, most of these services in and around the city are filled, and Stabroek Market is where most of these drivers have worked their entire lives.
“They [City Council] didn’t hold any meeting or anything; they just moved us without saying anything” he added.
Another operator who was one of the organisers of the protest related that there is in existence, the Stabroek Taxi Service which has been one of the oldest taxi services in the country, operating for more than 50 years.
Further, he explained that to his knowledge, Stabroek Park has been designated and gazetted as a hire car parking zone. Therefore, he is of the view that it is illegal and unlawful for the City Council to interrupt the work of taxi drivers there. “Also, they haven’t said to us where they intend to place us. They have spoken to the minibus operators and the vendors and we taxi drivers are a part of the business community that is being affected” he said, adding that a system needs to be put in place for persons working on Government reserves.