The controversial $25,000 container fee was slashed to $5000 as an interim measure following discussions last Friday between Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and the Private Sector Commission (PSC).
Town Clerk Royston King said in a statement that discussions and deliberations on the issue concluded with those in attendance proposing that the Council reduce the container fee to $5000 as an interim measure.
“It will be collected at the source, at the various Ports and Wharves, effective 1st of August, 2016,” King said.
He said that the meeting, held in an atmosphere of understanding and cooperation, also examined other issues.
On July 19, the M&CC blocked several streets in Georgetown and its environs, demanding that a G$25,000 fee be paid for each container to traverse the city streets.
The management staff of John Fernandes Terminal had told INews that they were approached by Deputy Town Clerk Sherry Jerrick on behalf of the M&CC and were informed that all laden container trucks must pay a fee of $25,000 to traverse the city streets or be blocked at the wharves.
M&CC officials were also present outside the Muneshwer’s Wharf, where they prevented container trucks from entering or leaving the location unless the $25,000 fee was paid.
While there, Deputy Town Clerk Jerrick had told the media that the City Council was merely invoking Numbers 273 and 274 of its by-laws with respect to the use of its roads by vehicles of a “certain weight”.
However, the Council was forced to abandon the demand after Shipping Association of Guyana (SAG) moved to the High Court challenging the M&CC’s decision to impose the new fee.
