The People’s Parliament is planning to fight the move to remove participants from the public space they have been occupying at the Avenue of the Republic and Brickdam, since August 23.
Activist Sherlina Nageer yesterday told Stabroek News that they would apply for an injunction against the Ministry of Housing and Water, which through the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) gave the movement a 72-hour deadline to remove on Monday.
The notice from the ministry to the group stated that it was operating in violation of the Town and Country Planning Act. It stated that the CH&PA was calling on the People’s Parliament to “remove all materials and belongings, belonging to the members of the People’s Parliament at Brickdam & Avenue of the Republic, Stabroek within 72 hrs.”
In default, the members were warned that the CH&PA will enforce the provisions of the Act.
Nageer pointed out that those who are part of the movement are excising their constitutional rights and they are not infringing on anyone’s rights as they exercise same. “We are standing our ground and we would continue to occupy this space,” she said.
She added that the notice was placed in the movement’s donation can by one of the CH&PA workers and was not served on any individual.
Before persons started to congregate at the location as part of the movement, the area was open space for members of the public to utilise and benches were also placed. However, following the occupation, workers of the CH&PA have started to fence it and sign boards were erected which state that it was the property of the people of Guyana and that there should be no trespassing and that violators would be prosecuted.
Initially, participants in the movement had also erected tents, in which they slept, but these were removed by members of the Guyana Police Force. Presently, there is no permanent structure at the location put up by members of the People’s Parliament.
The movement, launched on August 23, comprises people from all walks of life having discussions about the country’s future and what they want Parliament to do. It has drawn up a petition to the National Assembly, for the creation of a national living wage, the lowering of the VAT, and the holding of overdue local government polls, among other things.
Nageer said that they have garnered some 5,000 signatures for the petition. With the opening of the new parliamentary session pushed back to Monday, she said it is hoped that more persons would sign on.
The petition, “Towards the people’s agenda,” is to be presented to the National Assembly. “The petition calls on the elected Parliament to take action on a number of issues which we, who have put them in power, have been busy discussing for the last seven weeks while they have been on holiday,” the group said in a statement.
From the public occupation of High Street and Brickdam, it says, participants in the movement have heard thousands of Guyanese express overwhelming disillusionment and disgust with the current state of affairs in the Guyanese society, including partisan politics that divide and ignore the voice of the ordinary person, leaders who fail to inspire but never fail to disappoint and a system that oppresses and disempowers the people.
“We bear witness to suffering by poor people of all racial and ethnic groups, from all over Guyana, and to the growing inequality between rich and poor. Most Guyanese are working far too long and hard for far too little wages, while others, because of their friends, family, and political connections, collect super salaries far beyond the service they provide to the nation.
Meanwhile, the most vulnerable members of our society, beginning with our children, struggle to make ends meet and to live dignified, fulfilling lives. These are the stories we have heard day after day,” it also noted.
