Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore says City Hall is preparing legal action to challenge the Government’s takeover of 57 Georgetown roads, while accusing the administration of acting out of political motives and trying to choke off key municipal revenue streams.
Speaking on the programme ‘Sources,’ Mentore said the Mayor and City Council was never consulted before the roads were reclassified and placed under central government control. He said he first learnt of the move through the media and maintained that neither he nor the Town Clerk received any formal notice beforehand.
The Mayor said City Hall’s lawyers are now examining the issue, including what he said are transport documents showing municipal ownership of some of the affected roads. According to him, the council intends to move to the courts, with legal filings expected imminently.
“We will work through the courts and through our legal team,” Mentore said, adding that the council is seeking to have the gazetted orders overturned.
Mentore rejected the Government’s explanation that the takeover was based on the council’s poor maintenance of the roads. He argued that successive governments, including previous PPP/C and APNU+AFC administrations, have long carried out road works in Georgetown and elsewhere as part of their national responsibilities.
“My issue is why Georgetown?” he said, arguing that the decision to focus on the capital points to a political agenda.
The Mayor claimed the road takeover is designed not only to undermine City Hall politically, but also to weaken its ability to generate income. He pointed to possible impacts on vending, billboard placement, Mashramani route management, and other street-related revenue opportunities.
“It obviously has to be a political motive,” Mentore said. “A political motive to undermine the city… and to affect our ability to earn.”
He suggested that control over the streets could eventually affect how the council manages vendors and other commercial activities along those corridors, while also raising concerns about future disputes over the use of public spaces during national events.
Mentore also argued that if the roads were always under the city’s control, then the question of who should benefit from taxes and fees linked to road use should be examined.
He said the council has not been receiving road-related taxes collected by the central government and maintained that this has limited the City Hall’s capacity to fund major repairs on its own.
While acknowledging that the city faces financial constraints, Mentore said the answer is not for the government to seize roads and assets, but to work collaboratively with the municipality and provide adequate support under the law.
He said the council will continue to defend what it sees as its legal authority and municipal assets, insisting that the matter must now be settled before the courts.
