The Solicitor General has ordered the Port-of-Spain City Corporation to immediately cease and desist from impounding illegally parked vehicles in the city. The announcement was made yesterday by Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing as he addressed the media after yesterday's statutory meeting at City Hall, Knox Street, Port-of-Spain. Last January 27 Lee Sing announced drivers who violated parking restrictions in the city would have their vehicles impounded at a "secret" location and be fined a hefty $5,000. His announcement caused several members of Government and the public to object to his plan.
Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal also noted then it was illegal because there were no laws to support it. Yesterday, Lee Sing said the corporation planned to challenge the order "all the way to the final conclusion."
He said the corporation had written to the Solicitor General indicating its position. Lee Sing said the corporation was still waiting on a response. He said he was willing take to the matter to the highest court.
He added: "The Government is standing on the side of disorder" by demanding he stop impounding illegally parked vehicles. Asked whether he thought the letter was politically motivated, Lee Sing said he believed it was politically driven.
He said he believed the corporation was being "punished" by the Government for being under the People's National Movement (PNM) and not the People's Partnership. Lee Sing said the Ministry of Local Government took all city and borough councillors, except those from the Port-of-Spain City Corporation, to Cardiff, Wales, to take part in a Commonwealth conference. He said he believed people who illegally parked in Port-of-Spain were "committing a serious crime." Asked whether he would consider reducing the $5,000 fine, he said: "The fee should be increased if you want to get rid of people doing the wrong thing." Lee Sing said the reason the murder rate in T&T was so high was because people knew they wouldn't get caught.
Responding to Lee Sing's claim of political motivation behind the order, Minister of Local Government Chandresh Sharma said: "The mayor needs to increase his level of intelligence and his level of conduct as mayor." Sharma, speaking in an interview, said the cease and desist letter was sent because Lee Sing's plan was outside the law and had nothing to do with political loyalties. He said to his knowledge even some of Lee Sing's PNM colleagues were in disagreement with the plan.