NOTHING surprises me in this country. I am of advanced age, and I have seen the contents of Guyana all my life. I repeat, nothing surprises me about my country until Monday, November 17, 2025, outside the Universal Church at the junction of Wellington Street and Charlotte Street, which once was the famous Strand-de-Luxe cinema, which had the franchise for the James Bond movies.
There was a stand-off between a citizen and the church over parking, in which the citizen was in his right and was backed by the law. He refused to move. City Council employees came and removed the encumbrances the church put there, as if the church owned the parapet.
If you have been reading my column for the past 37 years, you would know I resort to a little satire when something happens in Guyana that I find incredible. Here it is: I would be reading the newspaper with hot coffee in hand. The item shocked me. My coffee fell on my leg and burned me.
This happened when I read that the City Council removed the encumbrances on Monday outside the Universal Church. The encumbrances on pavements preventing access to citizens are universal in Guyana. And only the rich get away with it.
After you would have read this column, go to Thirst Park and see what Banks DIH has been doing for years now on the parapet. From Meadow Bank, stretching north on the public roads for almost a quarter of a mile, the company has cones preventing people from parking there. I took the then traffic chief, Mr Stevens, to Banks DIH after the company stopped me from parking. Company officials refused to come out to talk to him.
I showed the Banks DIH encumbrances three times on the Freddie Kissoon Show and will show it again on Monday. Hand-in-Hand has signs that says, “no parking” on the government’s parapet. I moved one of the signs to park; they called security. I went to the Traffic head office. They sent two ranks who spoke to a defiant female manager, but the ranks instructed her to move the signs. That was five years ago. The signs are still there.
It is a laugh and a comical situation to watch as the City Council moved the encumbrances outside the Universal Church. The encumbrances are universal in the 10 Regions of Guyana, so the Universal Church is just part of the universe in this country. The encumbrances are nightmares in Georgetown.
Some people ring the entire parapets where they live with ropes tied to posts. I went at 07:00hrs to shop at Bourda Green and the security at Steve’s Jewellery on Church Street told me I couldn’t park; he said the space was for customers. So, I remonstrated with him, telling him the store opens at 09:00hrs, so how could he prevent parking at 07:00hrs. I went to the Alberttown Police Station. The accompanying rank told the store that they have to let me park at 07:00hrs.
It is crazy in the compound where I live. Mr Yog Mahadeo planted large palm trees on the parapet. Guess where? Not adjacent to where he lives, but across the road. Citizens have owned the parapets by planting palm trees and driving piles into the ground. That, by any definition of encumbrance, is encumbrance. My vet is in Prashad Nagar and someone lined the parapet to the north, south, east and west of their home with tyres. You simply cannot park there.
On the Freddie Kissoon Show, we featured three times how a homeowner has planted an entire garden on the parapet at the corner of Peter Rose Street and Laluni Street in Queenstown. This was two years ago. The huge, unkempt garden is still there. Right at that junction, there is a school and that overgrown garden on the public parapet prevents parents from parking there.
I called the Town Clerk for a comment on the universal encumbrances in Guyana, but she told me that since she is on leave, she cannot speak officially on the question of removing all encumbrances put there by both the rich and the poor. The Mayor told me he is in a meeting and will get back to me.
So, where do we go from here as a country with regard to the ownership of public parapets by private homeowners? When the City Council was removing the objects put there by the Universal Church, I wonder if God was watching and he urged the City Council to heed God’s advice and remove all objects from all the parapets in Georgetown. My parapet outside my home is unburdened. You can park on it if you like. It is not my property.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.