Georgetown’s Mayor and Municipal Council has issued an ultimatum to Guyana’s Ministry of Public Works, threatening immediate criminal and civil litigation if ongoing roadside excavation and parapet modification projects across multiple city neighborhoods are not fully halted by November 17, 2026, alongside the submission of verified scientific evidence proving the works will not cause severe, irreversible environmental harm. In a formal legal notice transmitted to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill via the council’s legal representative Eusi Anderson, the local governing body warned that continued progress on the contested construction sites would trigger unwavering official resistance and full prosecution for breaches of both national constitutional provisions and the Municipal and District Councils Act. The council’s legal filing alleges that Minister Edghill’s department has committed clear, documented violations of existing law by unlawfully accessing city-owned public road lands, demolishing established green parapets and pedestrian walkways, and carrying out widespread felling and aggressive pruning of mature, longstanding street trees. Targeted worksites flagged by the council span five densely populated Georgetown neighborhoods: Queenstown, Festival City, North Ruimveldt, Cedar Court, and Marudi Street in Lamaha Gardens. Local officials have pushed back against the ministry’s plan to replace the ecologically functional, aesthetically valued green parapets with gravel surfaces deployed using heavy soil-compacting machinery, demanding full transparency around the decision-making process that approved the project. By the November 17 deadline, the council is requiring the ministry to release all completed environmental impact assessment reports, records of public and stakeholder consultations, and the full names, professional credentials, and formal findings of the botanists and environmental specialists who signed off on the tree removal and parapet destruction activities. Additional demands include the immediate removal of all construction equipment and leftover building materials from road and public lands under the city council’s jurisdiction, as well as full disclosure of all supporting expert and legal opinions, and underlying operational data that guided the ministry’s actions to date. The notice emphasizes that the decades-old vegetation and green parapet systems targeted for demolition play a critical role in maintaining local ecological balance, urban stormwater management, and the distinctive scenic character of Georgetown’s residential communities.
City Council threatens legal action over parapet works; requests environmental impact assessment
