Implementation of taxes for containers parked in the city was one of several issues discussed when officials of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) met with President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday.
According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Ramesh Dookhoo, stated that clarity was being sought after there was an apparent intention to tax containers for parking purposes effective from January 2, 2011.
A meeting with President Jagdeo was subsequently sought after dialogue between the M&CC and the Chamber on the issue was unsuccessful and Dookhoo stated that the matter has been amicably resolved. “It is now apparent that there is nothing like container taxes so we have clarified the matter in a very definitive way much to our happiness,” Dookhoo said.
Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall has agreed to engage the two parties in a further discussion on the issue which will take into consideration, parking hours, safety and on-load off-load regulations among others, GINA stated.
Senior Vice President of the GCCI Frank De Abreu told GINA that the parking of heavy containers on parapets may be permissible given that those parapets are in conformity with the M&CC specifications.
Meanwhile, GINA stated that the M&CC and the GCCI also discussed an appropriate approach to address the graveyard opposite the Bourda Market on Regent Street. According to Minister Lall, a method has been defined.
Although he was not at liberty to disclose the approach that will be taken, Lall stated that the issue has for long been in the pipeline but there has been an impasse because of a court injunction. “That court injunction has restrained all the people who have proposals to deal with the matter and now I think we are having another attempt to see what can be done,” he said.
The cemetery is believed to have been dormant for over 140 years and De Abreu noted that it is located in a highly commercial part of the city where parking and proper vending are much needed. “I believe we should relocate it (cemetery) as has been done all over the world… we should remove that site, make it a prime commercial area, create jobs and put vendors in a more decent place,” De Abreu said.
He added that such a move should have been made years ago and he agreed with the proposal for a monument to be erected in honour of those buried at the site.
