–City Council unable to relocate persons, Town Clerk highlights
THE Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has said unequivocally that it was not involved in Sunday’s removal of vendors from outside Demico House and Discount Store.

The ministry, on Monday, responded to an article in Monday’s Stabroek News that it called “erroneous” by stating that the sellers were removed due to legal action, and that the ministry had no input, contrary to what Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore had suggested.

“At no time was there any communication between the Mayor and City Council and the ministry on this matter. The mayor’s comments were clearly devoid of facts and aimed at misleading the nation and creating mischief,” the statement added.

According to the ministry, it is “quite regrettable” that Stabroek News failed to reach out to the ministry before publishing the piece.
Nonetheless, the ministry said it continues to hold the media in esteemed regard and appeals to journalists to practice fair and proper journalism by verifying content prior to dissemination.

It has called for a full retraction and correction of the article. Furthermore, the ministry has reminded that subject ministers Sonia Parag and Anand Persaud are accessible, should reporters need confirmation or clarity on any matter that falls under their purview. Added to that, the ministry said it has an active communications unit that can be reached at 625-3257 at any time.

The sellers outside Demico House in Stabroek and the Discount Store on Regent Street, have been removed by the Mayor and City Councillors in compliance with court orders.
The sidewalks in the vicinity of Demico House and the Discount Store had been congested for several months with improvised stands and merchants offering an assortment of products, such as apparel and accessories, food items, and mobile phone accessories.

While these vendors provided themselves with a source of income, their presence had also raised issues of congestion, obstructed pedestrian access, and created sanitation challenges.

The removal operation was, however, “solely executed by employees of the City Engineer’s Department of the Council and led by the City Engineer, Colvern Venture, with support from the City Constabulary and the Guyana Police Force,” according to a press release issued on Monday by Georgetown Town Clerk Candace Nelson.

“A final notice was issued [to the vendors] on April 24, 2024, by the City Engineer for the immediate removal of all encumbrances from the two locations. At no time were the vendors given until April 30, 2024, to vacate the area nor did the Court Order give a date of April 30, 2024, for the vendors’ removal as claimed by the Mayor,” the statement said.

UNABLE TO RELOCATE ANYBODY
During the enforcement exercise held on Sunday, most of the vendors voluntarily removed, Town Clerk Nelson told the Guyana Chronicle on Monday.

“When we turned up at Demico House, all of them opted to remove their structures before we actually did anything. What we did was a clean-up exercise because the drain was heavily littered with garbage,” Nelson said, adding that “there was some removal” at Discount Store.

She said, for example, that when the representatives of the City Council arrived there, they came across a stall that still had everything intact. She added that they were able to get in touch with the stallholder, who showed up and kindly gave away all she owned.

The Town Clerk reported that there was a structure near the Discount Store on Wellington Street that had to be dismantled. She said that the vendor received the steel fittings after this was completed.
She further added: “We tidied up the area. We did not get any hard time. We give them the option to remove their stuff.”

Nelson also said that the Council had been contacted by a few of the affected vendors regarding relocation. However, she stated that due to the increasing volume of such requests the Council has been receiving, at this moment it is not something the Council can do.
“Right now, we are unable to relocate anybody. We have some locations where businesses are asking [the Council] to remove the vendors,” she said to this publication.

On Monday, a few vendors met with the City Engineer to talk about the next steps.
The Town Clerk’s press statement said: “It must be noted that the Administration of the Council was merely executing the orders of the High Court and was never involved in the process of blind-siding anyone. Further, it is important to note that whilst the Administration awaits a plan from the Full Council to address the issue of street vending, any order of the Court takes precedence.”

HIGH COURT PROCEEDINGS
Similar court orders against vendors have been obtained by Muneshwers Limited, Collection Boutique and Gift Centre and Shamdas Kirpalani from the High Court.
In separate applications before the court, the businesses, including Banks DIH Limited, the parent company of Demico House and the Discount Store, complained that the vending issue had gotten worse in recent years without any intervention from the City Council.

All the businesses submitted, among other things, that because of this circumstance, access to its properties had been hampered, resulting in major financial losses.
The establishments said that the congestion created by the vendors had also attracted pickpocketing and that these criminals would target their customers as well as passing members of the public. A few of them also brought up the problem of narcotics, especially marijuana, being sold and smoked outside their business places by the vendors.