PPP/C calls on City Councillors to hand in their resignations : -supports establishment of an IMC to run the affairs of G/town

AT the PPP/C’s weekly press briefing at Freedom House yesterday, party General Secretary, Mr Clement Rohee, called for members of the City Council to hand in their resignations.This comes in the wake of last week’s disclosure by Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (LGRD), Mr Norman Whittaker, that residents and representatives of the private sector can forward a petition to the LGRD Ministry to have an IMC replace the City Council.

Mr Rohee said: “The deplorable state of affairs in the capital (city of Georgetown) continues to be of great concern (to) the PPP.
Under the leadership of Mayor Hamilton Green, the Council seems incapable of dealing with evident mismanagement, lack of accountability, corruption, and the inability to provide even the most basic of services to the citizens of Georgetown.”

Rohee dubbed the City’s administration model as a “PNC-styled administration”, and maintained that it should not be allowed to continue. “It appears that the only rational conclusion is for the members of the Council to resign,” he said.

“The PPP fully supports the establishment of an Interim Management Committee to manage the affairs of the capital city,” Rohee disclosed. According to him, a committee comprised of bi-partisan and committed people would undoubtedly receive the full support of the Georgetown population.

“The PPP and the PPP/C Government will support an IMC to clean up this monumental mess,” Rohee declared.

PETTY POLITICS
General Secretary Rohee referred to the “infighting” at City Hall over confirmation of Carol Sooba as Town Clerk, after she had acted in that position for the last two years. He said: “Rather than grappling with the situation at hand, especially the pile up of garbage, Mayor Green and his supporters in the Council are more interested in dabbling in petty politics and constant personal attacks (on) the Town Clerk and other City officials.

“The mayor and the PNC (People’s National Congress) and the GGG (Good and Green Guyana) councillors have never been satisfied with Town Clerks, and this is the case once again,”
Rohee declared.

Rohee stressed that, contrary to the perception being advanced by the City Council that the Town Clerk is incompetent, it is City Council itself that is the problem, with its “lack of leadership” and the fact that it is “out of touch” with the needs of the people.

He called for the spotlight to be shone on the City Council itself and its challenges. The General Secretary said: “The City of Georgetown is growing rapidly in many ways, but the Council does not have a plan to manage the waste generated, the problem of clogged drains and canals, deteriorating roads, collecting of rates and taxes, building and health inspection, uncontrolled vending and traffic congestion, etc. Flooding in the City is getting unbearable, resulting in losses to citizens…. We have reached a point where the health, safety and property of the citizens are at risk.”

He underscored the fact that, since 2007, Central Government has pumped more than $300M into the City Council to assist with road works, drainage and irrigation, and solid waste management. “These are being done outside of any plan,” Rohee said.

According to Rohee, Government has called on the City Council time and time again to “put its act together” and work in collaboration with stakeholders, but not much has been achieved in this regard. “The Council seems incapable of doing so,” he posited.

RECOMMENDATIONS UNHEEDED
Last year, Mr Keith Burrowes was appointed Chairman of the Implementation Committee at City Hall. Asked about the status on the recommendations made in his report, Rohee noted that the best plan can be laid out, but the absence of human capital to ensure its realization makes it an unused tool.

After completing that report, Burrowes had said in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle last September that, were the Council to use the guidelines and implement some systems that had been outlined in the report, the council would not be faced with many of the issues confronting it today.

Rohee maintained that an IMC would be able to lead a national effort to build a modern city, and satisfy the growing needs of a growing urban population.

Due process for establishment of an IMC involves a petition being made to the Local Government Ministry, which would enable that ministry to launch an inquiry and have the outcomes presented at a public meeting before it acts on the recommendations of the inquiry’s report.

The ruling party contends that Mayor Hamilton Green and members of the Georgetown City Council must accept responsibility for their “failures”, the consequences of which residents have had to grapple with.
Written By Vanessa Narine