Dear Editor,
So for the umpteenth time the City of Georgetown is under water. True, we are below sea level, but if the appropriate measures were only allowed to be put in place the inconvenience and dislocation suffered by the business community and the householders, would have been avoided.
To be very brief I state the following:
- To be viable and deliver the services expected by citizens a city administration needs to have money and good management, but for reasons which defy logic and concern the state has denied the duly elected Mayor & Councillors of Georgetown both, thus denying the council the opportunity to satisfy the just demands of citizens.
- Government has refused to implement earlier proposals to deal with the major challenges related to ‘flooding’ in the city. These are the desilting of the Downer Canal and all of the main canals – some require revetment. The council has done some of these works within its available resources.
- A realistic programme to handle the collection and disposal of all waste. The IDB proposals were not fully put in place and to date we are not aware of what has happened to the public education programme or the money.
- The recommendations of the Greater Georgetown Development Plan have been shelved; this would have helped with the whole question of congestion in the city, all of which has a bearing on flooding and the optimum use of space. Instead we now hear from a Minister some foolishness about covering the High and Croal Street Canals, which apart from further contributing to the loss of charm and unique nature of the city, will make cleaning the canals a bigger problem, not to mention the noise nuisance to our courts. But who in the government cares about Georgetown?
- At several meetings summoned by the Prime Minister and Minister Robert Persaud, I suggested that we seek the help of the older engineers with vast experience such as Philip Allsopp, Charles Sohan, Terry Fletcher, Lloyd Alleyne, etc. Next, as far as the city is concerned the government should ensure that the eight outfall channels are cleared throughout the year (a central government responsibility in any case) since even if all of our kokers and sluices functioned to their optimun the sling mud accumulated west of them in the Demerera River would – as it does – restrict the rapid flow of water from the city canals. But no! With its propaganda machine in full gear we hear of the Hope Canal and money-wasting schemes such as the ‘Pick it up’ campaign. I told the Minister that the message should be ‘Do not drop’ but who cares?
- But for us at City Hall the worst hindrance has been the imposition of a Town Clerk who does as she pleases with the full support of the President et al. My colleagues abroad when told of her capriciousness, said, ‘simply unbelievable.’ By way of example a few days ago she, with bodyguards in tow, stormed the office of the Public Relations Officer, reminding him that she had interdicted him and he must vacate the office immediately. This is an irony: first she has no such authority even with the usual cover of her minister; second, the manner is that of political police, the irony being that the full council passed on three occasions motions of no confidence against her requesting her immediate removal. Further the said council sent her on administrative leave to allow for the investigation of a serious offence. With the support of those who imposed her in the first place she will not budge, even though she has not taken vacation leave for three years.
So these are only some of the trials and tribulations that contribute to the sufferings of the citizens of Georgetown and those who come into it.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green
Mayor of Georgetown
