The increasing number of electronic billboards being installed across the city and the revenue which should be collected have attracted the attention of city councillors, Lelon Saul and Clayton Hinds.
Both councillors at the Council’s statutory meeting yesterday, questioned the billboards’ legality and the approval process behind their sudden appearances.
Saul, in a brief but fiery address, said “I think it’s necessary for us to have an investigation… Every day, billboards are going up around the city, and nobody seems to know or see anything.” Saul then cast doubt on the competence of the city’s engineering department describing the department’s handling of the matter as “mediocrity”.
Saul also raised concerns about how much revenue the council was collecting from these billboards. “How much money are we collecting? I don’t know if they can even say,” he questioned. He called for the engineering department to provide a detailed response within seventy-two hours, exclaiming, “I think that is enough time for them to answer us!” Saul expressed frustration, saying he feels the council is being disregarded.
Hinds also supported Saul’s queries and further questioned the legitimacy of the billboards. He emphasized that the issue should not be politicized but be seen as a service that the council provides. Hinds insisted that the council must have data on the existing billboards to make informed decisions. “We currently have applications from a company called Pixels,” he noted, adding that Pixels is reportedly the agency responsible for installing billboards linked to the Guyana Police Force’s security cameras.
Hinds said that the council had previously sought information on these installations but received no response. He stressed the need for transparency regarding the revenue generated from the billboards, stating, “We do not know whether we have been receiving payments for all these electronic billboards.” He echoed Saul’s call for the council to take a decisive stance with clear timelines attached.
Mayor Alfred Mentore acknowledged that some billboards are owned by the company Impressions, but Town Clerk Candace Nelson clarified that meetings had been held with the company’s owner Neal Sukhlal to address related matters. The remaining issue, according to Nelson, is identifying the ownership of other billboards and ensuring the owners are brought before the council to discuss fees and payments.
Engineer Kenson Boston requested an extended time period to have the information provided to the council and two weeks was given as opposed to the three-day period requested by both Saul and Hinds.
