The Ministry of Public Works needs to be more proactive in addressing the construction of illegal structures on the government’s reserves, according to Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.
Several vendors along the Kingston Seawall were recently asked to remove their permanent structures, thus leading to confrontations. According to the Vice President, the vendors claimed they were not told of the implications of their structures during the building process.
“The Ministry of Public Works has been delinquent,” he said, noting that the vendors’ points are valid.
He noted that his administration is not against vending as a means of earning an income, however, this must not be done in a way that negatively affects future development.
“Ultimately the seawall has to be developed into a boardwalk for everyone… they can vend in a manner that doesn’t disrupt other people or their businesses, that they keep the place clean and the structures are mobile,” he told reporters on Thursday.
The Vice President further referred to billboards and structures being erected along the roadways without permission, but are not addressed in a timely manner.
“A man just goes and put up a big sign by the highway and they have no permission whatsoever, they block the highway, they change the aesthetics of the place and then the Ministry will see the sign going up and then weeks later, start going to say you don’t have permission so take it down so we end up in conflict with people,” Jagdeo pointed out.
Currently, Jagdeo said there are many persons who have defied guidelines along the East Bank corridor by building structures along the new Heroes Highway and this can in the future impede the free flow of traffic.
Any business looking to build a structure or erect a sign on public land or property must seek permission from the Ministry of Public Works to avoid future conflicts.
