City Hall prepared to deal with any challenge – Mayor

-Council did not block roads to demand container fees

The Mayor and City Council is coming under heavy criticism with the recent decision to have businesses pay that 25-thousand-dollar fee for shipping containers leaving the wharves.

City Mayor Patricia Chase-Green said the operations carried out by the Council are guided by the laws with no personal agendas.

On Tuesday it was reported that persons from city hall barricaded the junction of Robb and Water Streets denying exit of containers unless a proof of the container fee was seen by them.

The City Mayor who defended the recent blocking of the industrial site road and Water Street said this was done not to demand the container fee but to do a road assessment.

And Chase-Green says City Hall did not call the companies individually in the two areas because it was publicly advertised.

She added that last week the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) met with City Hall to discuss the very issue and other matters.

And now according to her several businesses have opted to take legal action against the Council.

“I am prepared with the administration and council to handle anything that comes our way…I expect to have challenges and we will cross those bridges.”

Meanwhile, President of Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Vishnu Doerga told News Room via email that the message sent by these actions does not bode well for legitimate private sector development in Guyana.

He stated that the message being sent by City Hall is that the fees can be instituted arbitrarily without sound legal footing, consultations with those affected are of no concern and actions are taken to shut down businesses with no regards for the effect on Guyana’s economy.

The GCCI President said the body’s interactions with legally elected officials of the council point to the fact that they have not even been consulted or informed to much of what is currently being rolled out.

GCCI is now calling for Government to step in to bring order in what clearly seems to be an out of control campaign to destabilize and discourage doing business in Guyana.

No investor would easily risk investing in such an unpredictable and adversarial environment says GCCI.

News Room also understands that the Shipping Association of Guyana has moved to the high court to challenge the container fee.