Derelict crackdown: Truck owner pays $4.4M to reclaim seized vehicles – Edghill

Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill has disclosed that the owner of some of the trucks that were recently seized by the Government in its derelict-removal drive recently paid $4.4 million to get them back. “The gentleman who refused to remove his derelict vehicles has paid the $4.4 million for the removal, so he can get back his trucks that he used as a barricade and that is the penalty for lawlessness,” Edghill told the National Assembly on Monday during his contribution to the Budget 2026 debates. Edghill said owners of vehicles recently seized by the Government can reclaim them after paying a fee. The Minister subsequently disclosed that owners can pay a fee to get them back. One of the sites where the removal exercise was conducted was the Old Railway Embankment behind the GuyOil Gas Station, where the road was blocked by abandoned vehicles owned by Global Spare Parts and Auto Sales. At that location, the owner of the auto sales had contracted two trucks to act as a barricade to the officials attempting to remove the derelict vehicles. Those trucks were also towed by the Government during its exercise. Another location was Sandy Babb and Middleton Streets, Georgetown, where a tarmac built for recreational purposes was occupied with derelict vehicles.

In a recent statement, Edghill had explained that the Government is not interested in permanently withholding property. He outlined a straightforward “cost-recovery” mandate for any owner wishing to recover their items. “All the persons whose stuff got picked up – if you really, really want it before I take it to the derelict dump site, they have to come into the Ministry, pay us what it cost to remove it, then you can get it back,” the Minister had said. The Minister has also reminded the public that this exercise will continue across the country. “Government reserves must remain clear for safety, drainage and future development,” the Ministry emphasised in the statement last week. Last year, Edghill had issued a stern warning that derelict vehicles, encumbrances and encroachments on road shoulders and Government reserves across Guyana will be removed.
“Guyanese are becoming fatigued and fed up, and it appears that once you finish cleaning, the very same thing reoccurs,” Edghill had lamented, as he assured that the Government will intensify its campaigns countrywide.
“We are giving notice to everyone: derelict vehicles, vehicles without wheels or doors, or vehicles with bush in them that have been abandoned on road shoulders will be removed, and they will be crushed into scrap at the Government’s derelict site on the Linden–Soesdyke Highway,” the Minister had emphasised, noting that several contractors have already been engaged to assist in this nationwide exercise.
Similar to the removal of derelict vehicles, the Minister had also addressed the growing issue of businesses encroaching onto road shoulders and pedestrian walkways. As such, he said the Ministry will continue to remove all encumbrances and encroachments wherever violations occur, as part of its commitment to road safety and orderliness.