by Linda Straker
- Public notice in Government Gazette assigned an area in Hillsborough as an official taxi stand
- A law cannot be enforced when a Permanent Secretary declares it
- It is Minister for Transportation’s duty to make such declaration via an Order
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs Javan Williams disregarded the Road Traffic Act when he declared a section of Hillsborough Street, Carriacou, a taxi stand.
A public notice in the 21 April 2023 edition of the Government Gazette assigned an area in the town of Hillsborough as an official taxi stand. “The Public is hereby advised that the stated designated area is now assigned as an official taxi stand in the central part of the town of Hillsborough on the island of Carriacou in the State of Grenada. This designated area is that entire position bounded to the north of Main Street, immediately around the Regatta Jupa, which is west of the Government Revenue building, south of the Welcome Centre, and to the east with the intersection of Main Street and Church Street. The public is therefore advised that only authorised parking will be permitted.”
The notice signed by Williams was issued on 18 April 2023.
A law cannot be enforced when a Permanent Secretary declares it. However, an attorney and a police officer explained that it is the duty of the Minister for Transportation to make such a declaration via an Order. Then it will be the duty of the Traffic Department to enforce the law.
Section 110 of the Road Traffic Act guides who is responsible for assigning any road in Grenada as an official taxi stand. Subtitled “Appointment of stands for public service vehicles, etc.,” the legislation states, “The Minister may by notice published in the Gazette designate stands and parking places for use exclusively by public service vehicles and taxis plying or standing for hire.”
The law defines a taxi as a hired car having seating accommodation for not more than 13 passengers and which is of a type approved by the Licencing Authority as suitable for the ordinary purposes of a taxi.
An email was sent to the communications officer of the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs seeking clarity about the notice, but the official directed me to the Permanent Secretary. Calls placed to his office from Tuesday, 2 May to Thursday, 4 May 2023, proved unsuccessful as his secretary continuously said that Williams could not take the call.
