$500m request by Mayor and City Council… Govt. says no money until we audit you
Nov 03, 2020 , Source -- https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...-until-we-audit-you/
Kaieteur News – After asking the government for funds to bail out their $500M debt, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown will undergo an audit before any money is given, according to the Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall.
Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine
Dharamlall spoke to Kaieteur News yesterday, noting the need for the audit before any consideration for bail out is given. It will be conducted by the Auditor General.
It is unclear whether the audit has begun. However, the Minister stated that he will be reaching out to the Auditor General’s office for an update.
The request for a bail out was made last Wednesday by Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, at a press conference, where he lamented that the council’s debt is piling up.
Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharmlall
In detailing their debt, it was stated that (M&CC) owed $400M to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), over $20M in retroactive salaries to staffers at the City Constabulary and $100M to garbage collection contractors.
The Mayor also stated that the council has seen a 78% drop in their revenue since the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which left them cash-strapped.
“Our revenue dropped here about 78%…we are actually struggling to pay staff. Our salary and wages scale is $120M a month, close to that. We owe NIS $400M and that is since 1993, I was three years old, I’m dealing with that issue now. And the GPL matter that the Minister of Works spoke about, we finished the assessment and it seems like GPL may have to pay us too when we look at their properties and taxes,” the Mayor said during the press conference.
At the conference, the Mayor claimed the council was receiving no help from the government even though he would have written to President Irfaan Ali.
Narine said that upon sending his letters it was requested that he provided a breakdown which he gave twice but got no response.
In addition to that, he stated that he also sent several letters to Minister Dharamlall. According to the Mayor, his efforts did not stop there… he even visited the Prime Minister, Mark Phillips recently.
The council has been coming under criticism for their management of funds over the years with persons saying that they have been receiving “too much leniency”.
It is a known fact that for years, the M&CC has been cash-strapped- asking for bailouts.
The council has also been accused of not doing enough to collects its rates and taxes and of allowing corruption to become imbedded.
Georgetown Mayor Pandit Ubraj Narine (centre) joins in the clean-up operation.