Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday decried the move by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to execute certain rehabilitative works throughout Georgetown without contacting the City Council.
“No contact has been made with the council, who are the ones in possession of the city plans showing where pipes etc are buried,” Green stated. He noted that previously the Georgetown municipality had been represented on the board of GWI, but that its representative had been removed by the government.
Speaking at a press briefing at City Hall yesterday, the Mayor said this was undeniable proof of the government’s intention to control the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
Repeating claims he had made before, the mayor stated that council continues to experience setbacks due to various issues, including the irregular collection of taxes from various entities.
He stated that the mechanism that is supposed to revaluate properties every five years is not functioning and as such many premises which have been converted to commercial from residential continue to pay residential tax rates. This, he says, continues to happen because the M&CC does not have the competencies to change the current arrangement. “The Ministry of Local Government waived and continues to waive taxes on various companies,” he added, saying it further curbs the council’s ability to carry out its mandate. Pleas for arrangements to compensate the M&CC for these losses have been made, but according to the mayor have all fallen on deaf ears.
Addressing the major ailments plaguing Guyanese society, the mayor stated that in his opinion, the issues of corruption, poor governance and the insensitivity to the needs of the people have combined to create issues for this and quite possibly future generations.
Green opined that there is a plot by Central Government to render the council unable to execute its various mandates as well also to undermine the authority of the mayor himself. He related an occurrence where Minister of Local Government, Ganga Persaud, summoned and engaged Town Clerk, Carol Sooba, as well as various departmental heads to discuss issues relating to the city. The mayor expressed his disappointment at this development since he was not consulted, informed, and to this date not been privy to reports coming out of this meeting.
The mayor used this occurrence to reiterate his conviction of “the government’s deliberate attempt to dismember, destroy and disengage the Mayor and Councillors of Georgetown.”
The mayor also highlighted the issue of solid waste management as an especially problematic situation for the M&CC. He made mention of plans initiated by the M&CC to improve solid waste management in Georgetown. He revealed that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had, at one point, approached the council encouraging it to make proposals to address this situation. According to the mayor, proposals were made for the establishment of an incinerator to deal with the disposal of noxious, medical and other forms of waste. This proposal, he said, was rejected by the government.
He also made reference to the inadequacy of the landfill, despite the M&CC having advocated for a landfill site with certain specifications. According to the mayor, calls were made for a site which can accommodate 500-700 tons of garbage daily.
However, the site prepared by the government was built to accommodate only 200-250 tons per day. In addition, the mayor restated that he proposed a site that would be operated 16-24 hrs daily, but sadly even this proposal was rejected. The mayor stated that “it is because of this inadequacy that people dump garbage all over the city.”
When questioned about the situation relating to the council employees who were sent on leave, the mayor stated that we has not been informed of any developments on that issue.
