GPHC heading to court if City Council fails to remove vendors within seven days

Despite previous warnings, vendors who ply their trade outside the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) have failed to remove and are now given seven days to do so.

Failure will result in them facing legal action.

Attorney for the hospital, Sase Guraj has made the position known and called for actions to be taken in a letter sent to the Town Clerk of Georgetown and the Mayor and City Council on April 30, 2024.

“We are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that you take steps to remove all vendors from the vicinity of our client’s premises within seven (7) days hereof,” the letter states.

According to the letter, the hospital is prepared to institute legal proceedings if the council fails to comply. This issue was brought to the council’s attention on several occasions.

“On several occasions, our client has brought this to your attention, and to date, you have taken no tangible steps to remove the said encumbrances,” the letter noted.

In December 2022, the vendors were given a final notice by the Ministry of Public Works to remove all makeshift stalls, sheds, carts, caravans, or other receptacles used for vending.

This resulted in the vendors staging a protest as they called for a meeting with subject minister Juan Edghill.

The then Mayor of Georgetown Ubraj Nareine contended that the government’s removal notice was illegal.

However, thereafter, the vendors indicated their willingness to relocate to a suitable location where they could continue earning; that never materialised.

In recent months, Guyana’s High Court delivered at least three judgements in the favour of city businesses seeking to have vendors removed from the entrances and outskirts of their premises.