June 21, 2016 - Guyana Chronicle
THE Mayor and City Council (M&CC) owes Chung’s Global Enterprise, the company that had been contracted for the Stabroek Market clean-up and for major rehabilitation works done on the Merriman Mall, in excess of $200M.The Chief Executive Officer of the company is allegedly in the process of writing to President David Granger on the matter, as Town Clerk Royston King has him going “back and forth” for payments.
“Nothing is said about what is to be done; the Town Clerk operates as though he has the right to do as he pleases. Nothing is ever discussed; you just see things happening and then you know,” a source told this publication.
Chung’s Global was reportedly contracted to relocate vendors on Merriman Mall. The company constructed the new stalls that were erected between Orange Walk and Cummings Street, besides the play park and the Presidential Park. It is not clear whether work is presently continuing on the Merriman Mall. However, the source informed that the project had experienced several delays because of the lack of finances.
The contractor for the Kitty Market has also put a pause on rehabilitation works there, because of an exhausted credit line.
No information has been forthcoming from the Town Clerk specifically with regard to the Presidential Park, the source said, although the project was to have been completed in time for the Golden Jubilee celebrations last month.
Furthermore, no one knows anything about the $100M that was handed over to M&CC by the Ministry of Communities to initiate the Waste-to-Energy project at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara. “These are not matters discussed with the City Council. They’re safe secrets. There is no account of the money and it never came up for discussion,” the source said. City Hall has not been honouring its obligations to contractors, one such being Puran Brothers Disposal Services which was given an aspect of the Waste-to-Energy project.
Councillors have recently accused King of operating “independently” of the City Council. Councillors Carolyn Caesar-Murray and Malcolm Ferreira of Team Legacy have issued a statement in which they contended that councillors are not duly consulted or informed about important decisions being made by the City Hall administration, such as in the cases of the removal of the vendors from Stabroek Square, the demolition of the ‘Dread Shop’, and the new parking meters’ system, among other decisions.
“The Town Clerk continues to operate independently of the Council. Many times the members of the Council learn about decisions taken and executed by the Town Clerk from the press. When questioned, we are told that these decisions were made by the previous Council. However, we believe that even if decisions were made previously, the new Council should be able to, and must, review these decisions to determine if they align with the vision of the new Council.
“We believe this goes against the purpose of Local Government Elections. We, the councillors, are the elected officials. We have been elected by the people of our City, but our efforts to act on behalf of our constituents and the City are being stymied at almost every turn,” Team Legacy has said.
Team Legacy has said it understands that steps must be taken to reclaim City property and improve the City, but stakeholder consultations are still necessary.
“Team Legacy recognizes (that) some efforts are being made, but the current methods are unacceptable,” that entity has concluded.
