Attorney General Anil Nandlall has indicated that in addition to the more than 50 city streets that the Government has taken over from the Georgetown City Council, it will also be moving to take over empty spaces in the city, as it seeks to rectify what he called “grave incompetence” from City Hall.

Speaking during his weekly “Issues in the News” programme on Tuesday night, Mr. Nandlall said the Georgetown City Council has failed to discharge many of its functions and responsibilities.

“What they do a lot is to rent out the pavements, give people permission structures to build on these pavements, encourage lawlessness of the city to the detriment of Guyana and to the citizens. The government’s intention is simply to act in the public’s interest and address what is a national disaster and we are going to do it in stages, we will move from the roads and we will take over the empty spaces as well, the state has that power in law,” Nandlall declares.

The Opposition parties, APNU, WIN and FGM, have all condemned the move by the Government and has threatened legal action.

The Mayor of Georgetown has also condemned the move, saying that the Council was not consulted on the matter and has since rejected the Government’s decision to take control of the city streets by designating them as Public roads.

But the Attorney General said the City Council has been failing to carry out its functions as mandated by the Municipal and District Council Act for years.

“We must accept and recognize a problem before we can solve it and the Gagetown Mayor and City Council has for decades demonstrated their incompetence to discharge their statutory functions and when that happens it behoves the government of the day to take over these responsibilities once the law permits it and to do what is required to remedy and rectify what is a totally disastrous situation in the city of Georgetown,” Mr. Nandlall said.

Nandlall said the Government will ensure that no law is violated in its bid to take over the streets and city spaces, adding that the City Council has no “moral” authority to question the Government or to object to its decision.

Nandlall said the Government  has no ulterior motive behind its decision to take over the city streets. He said all of the new public roads will be rehabilitated and repaired by the Government.

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