…Without going to M&CC
“This place is about friends,” were the words of Mayor of Georgetown Ubraj Narine as he questioned why organisers are bypassing the Mayor and City Council when seeking permission to host events.
According to the Mayor, organisers first need to approach the M&CC, followed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
“It is by law that every organiser has to seek permission from the Mayor and City Council to host an event or function within the City of Georgetown, and per uplifting that permission, you take that to the Police, and they will work on that permission to grant you the police permission,” he explained at a press conference.
Moreover, Mayor Narine alleged that the Force has been rejecting persons who have been seeking the Council’s permission first. This, Narine said, is “raising eyebrows.”
“I want to know why it is happening that when we issue permission and when the organisers take these permission now to the Guyana Police Force, they are being rejected?” Narine questioned.
He added, “They are certain organisers who host events in the City, don’t come to the City Council, but they get the police approval to host these events, these things are raising eyebrows […] this place is about friends.”
He further asserted that the Council has the authority to stop any event that did not get its approval.
“There are consequence. We can stop an event, but you don’t want to do those things because person invest a lot of money because if we ought to act, we will be chastised too. You will hear how City Council stop these events and so on,” the Mayor posited.
Noting that the issue is not “personal,” Narine said he wants for there to be a “proper system in place” and for persons to respect the law.
To this end, he noted that the system is becoming a “burden” to organisers now that they are also required to get a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“You have to come here to pay City council for permission. I don’t know if you have to pay to the Guyana Police Force; you have to pay to EPA, too; where are we heading?
I thought his Excellency (President Irfaan Ali) say in many of his statements say that he is looking to simplify all these permit and permission so that to make work easier for investors coming to the country and even our own Guyanese brothers and sisters.”
The government has announced that it is looking at single window platforms to ease the inconsistency when doing business in Guyana.
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