Home Affairs Minister meets with public transportation owners

Traffic congestion at Stabroek Market

The Home Affairs Ministry on Wednesday held its first stakeholders’ meeting to address traffic congestion in the Stabroek Market area.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn led the meeting with public transportation owners and representatives at St Stanislaus College.
Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent Ramesh Ashram; Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean; Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle and other senior officers of the Guyana Police Force also attended the meeting.
Benn was accompanied by Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas, Advisor Harry Gill and Georgetown Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore.
Last week, Benn had announced that vendors who are obstructing the smooth flow of traffic in the vicinity of the Georgetown Fire Station and surrounding areas at Stabroek Market have to be relocated.

He was at the time on a tour to several parts of downtown Georgetown with the aim of identifying areas with issues that need to be addressed. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and a Joint Services team were also part of the tour.
During the tour, Minister Benn told reporters that he was displeased with the magnitude of vending on the roadways, especially in the vicinity of the Fire Station.
Previously, vendors were displaced owing to rehabilitation works at the Stabroek Market stelling, and were allowed to temporarily operate in the vicinity of the Georgetown Fire Station – until the construction works were completed. Also, the Route 42 bus park was removed from the area to facilitate the vendors.