Demanding the revocation of the Ministerial Order which paved way for the reclassification of 22 streets in the city as Public Roads, the Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore said the Ministry of Public Works’ justification for its action of seizing control of the municipal roads is “nothing short of an arrogant display of executive overreach and contempt for local democracy.”

 “Let me be crystal clear: the Central Government does not have the lawful authority to unilaterally seize, reclassify, and wrest control of municipal council roads from the elected Georgetown City Council. This is not “responsible governance” – it is a calculated, sinister assault on the autonomy of the people’s representatives in the capital city,” the Mayor said in a statement on Saturday.

The Public Works Ministry, on Friday, accused the Georgetown Mayor and City Council of “misinterpreting” the Municipal and District Councils Act, Cap. 28:01 which defines a council road as any road other than a public road.

It explained that once a road is lawfully designated as a public road, it ceases, by operation of law, to be a council road.

But the Mayor said the Government, at the level of the Public Works Ministry, has set out on a path to distort the laws governing municipal roads, and the facts of the matter. The Municipal and District Councils Act, he said, is unambiguous.

The Mayor said the Act explicitly defines a “council road” as “any highway or other road or street to which the public has right of access in a council area other than a public road.”

According to him, Section 274 of the Act vests exclusive powers in the Council.

“A council shall have power, subject to the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act, the Roads Act and the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, to construct, maintain, repair, protect and carry out works for the betterment of council roads in its council area and to regulate and control traffic thereon,” Mayor Mentore pointed out while citing the law.

He said nowhere in the Municipal and District Councils Act does Central Government or any Minister possess the power to unilaterally reclassify council roads as public roads, transfer ownership, or strip them from the Council’s portfolio without due process, formal notice, or meaningful consultation with the elected Council.

“The Government’s gazetted orders under the Roads Act, Cap. 51:01, constitute an unconstitutional overreach that directly contravenes both the letter and the spirit of the law. This is not governance; it is executive fiat that undermines the statutory mandate of local government,” he said.

In justifying the seizure and reclassification of the roads, the Public Works Ministry said on multiple occasions Central Government appealed to the City Council to upkeep, maintain and manage the streets, however, those appears were “ignored. It said between 2020 and 2025, approximately $19 billion was expended on the rehabilitation of main access roads within Georgetown, while approximately $5.3 billion was invested between 2020 and 2025 in urban roads across the city. It said an additional $4 billion went towards drainage interventions and an estimated $5 billion towards enhancement works within Georgetown.

The City Mayor said the appeals were never about surrendering control of our streets but rather routine calls for maintenance, which the Council consistently sought to fulfill despite being starved of resources from Central Government.

“The Government’s selective generosity – pouring billions into Georgetown while simultaneously starving the Council of rates, fees, and other resources – is a political trap, not national service. Assisting in rehabilitation does not grant the right or power to seize control. The Government has provided similar support to other municipalities and communities across Guyana without ever attempting to annex their streets. Why the exception for Georgetown? Because the People’s National Congress Reform-led APNU holds the majority on this Council, and this is a naked political vendetta to punish the capital for daring to elect representatives who oppose the PPP/C’s centralising agenda,” Mayor Mentore said.

He said the figures cited are not proof of benevolence but fulfillment of a national responsibility, for which Government now seeks to weaponize against the Council in an attempt to strip it of its assets and revenue streams.

The people of Georgetown, he warned, will not stand idly by while their elected Council is robbed of its statutory rights.

Demanding the immediate revocation of the gazetted orders, Mayor Mentore said the Council, in keeping with a resolution passed on Friday, has formally written the Government on the issue, and is prepared to pursue all legal avenues, including the Courts, to restore these roads to their rightful owners.

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