Residents and business owners of Georgetown can mount legal action to compel the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to remove illegal vendors, says Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.
The AG noted that the M&CC is governed by the Municipal and Districts Council Act, which outlines the responsibilities of the entity in dealing with the illegal occupation of city spaces. He said that Section 302, paragraph 25, says that the M&CC is obligated to “prohibit trespass in alleyways and the encumbering of public and council roads and the parapets thereof and of pavements”.
The AG said that when he was a lawyer in private practice, he went to court several times on behalf of city business owners to get the M&CC to enforce that section of the law by securing a Writ of Mandamus.
“A Writ of Mandamus is directed by a High Court Judge to a Statutory Officer or Statutory Tribunal compelling them to carry out their lawful duties when there is a neglect to do so. I appeared for many businessmen and got Writs of Mandamus directing the Town Clerk, directing the City Engineer and directing the Mayor and City Council to clear pavements in front of their businesses,” Nandlall said.
The AG added that business owners “must also play their part” to curb illegal vending.
“A resident or business owner whose house or living accommodation is blocked by unlawful vending on the pavement, can go to a judge and get an order directing the City Council to come and clear that vendor or clear that encumbrance. So, I hope they act on this advice. This must not be a government fight alone. This involves everyone. It is a matter of public order, the rule of law,” Nandlall stressed.
The Minister’s comments come days after the removal of several vendors who were found illegally occupying spaces on New Market Street near the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Last week, the Public Works Ministry said that the stalls and caravans were not only illegally erected, but were described as impediments to traffic to and from the health institution.
In a bid to prevent the carting away of the stalls, mobile food stands and other structures, City Mayor, Ubraj Narine and Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Sherod Duncan threw themselves under a parked canter. They were subsequently charged for alleged racial remarks and disrupting traffic. The face-off has only fuelled the Opposition’s claim that the government is mobilising the state’s law enforcement arm to go after pro-opposition affiliates.
Nandlall, however, disagrees. According to him, the government is only concerned with reinstating order on city streets. He said illegal vending leads to littering, an encumbrance to traffic, tax evasion, and blocking of entrances to legal businesses and those belonging to residents. He added that the M&CC, rather than prohibiting the illegal act, is encouraging “lawlessness” by defending illegal vending.
He also noted that the central Government can take over the reins of the city if the council continues to sit on its hands.
“There is a power in the law which Central Government does not wish to activate and Central Government can take over every street within the precincts of the city and take charge of the management of those streets. It is not something that Central Government would like to do, but the Mayor and City Council must understand that if they neglect to execute their statutory functions, if they act in breach of their statutory duties, if they neglect and refuse to carry out their obligations under the law, then they can be sued and Central Government can take over,” Nandlall said.
