— deputy mayor says rent to increase in 2018

STALLHOLDERS at the various municipal markets across Georgetown can expect a raise in their fees to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) sometime in 2018.

Deputy Mayor Lionel Jaikarran told Guyana Chronicle on Thursday that he agrees with the M&CC on raising the rent because the City Council needs revenue.

Stallholders, he said are currently paying “next to nothing”.

According to him, the City Council will be looking to do rehabilitation work on the markets and to fix the streets surrounding them.

He is not sure, though, if the increase will be applicable before or after the works are done. “We haven’t decided if the increase will affect all the markets, but I would think so.”

The Markets Public Health Committee should have met last week to discuss the issue but the meeting did not happen. “There should be a meeting between now and Christmas. Let’s hope it comes off,” Jaikarran said.

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had lamented the “lackadaisical” attitude with which the said committee was approaching certain key issues.

She made a call recently for all those who treat scheduled committee meetings in a sloppy fashion to make it known to the administration that if they can no longer serve on the committees.

The mayor pointed out that certain matters cannot be dealt with only at the statutory meetings of the Council.

“You ought to be committed to those meetings. I expect that this Markets and Public Health Committee will be very serious in the way forward. Another committee that has not been meeting if the Chairman is not present is the City Works Committee.

“If there is no chairman, the vice chairman, if there is no vice chairman, among yourselves as long as you have a quorum, you can choose someone to sit in the chair and conduct those meetings. The City Council cannot be at a standstill for the want of a chairman not attending the meeting. Please let us be serious as we sit around this table and take up responsibility as chairmen and vice chairpersons.”

Just last June, the mayor lamented the “lackadaisical” attitude with which the Markets’ Public Health Committee was approaching the relocation of Stabroek Market vendors to facilitate repairs to the wharf.

“I am not hearing from the [committee] and I hope that we can start consultations with those persons, so that they will be able to give us ideas of where they can be relocated while the wharf is being constructed,” she said.