Speaking at Anna Regina… Whittaker challenges local authorities to collect outstanding revenues

Written By Rajendra Prabhulall, Saturday, 8 February 2014, Source

MINISTER within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Norman Whittaker has called on staff of the Anna Regina Town Council to work out a mechanism for collecting outstanding rates and taxes.

Some of the Councillors at the meeting with Minister Whittaker

Addressing members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC), as well as staff of the Council at a a statutory meeting in the boardroom on Thursday, he said the municipality is not making enough effort to rake in large amounts due and noted that, every year, the sums owed keep increasing and that budgeted to be collected keeps reducing.

According to him, the Municipality is not reaching out to residents and letting them know about the important role they have to play by paying up their dues promptly.

Whittaker said the township must engage the people on the ground and called for all other Town Councils and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) across the country to do likewise.

He maintained that people must be engaged on the ground, either individually or in groups, to find out their problems or to have conversations in connection with development of the Municipality or the NDC.

Minister Whittaker challenged Councillors of the five municipalities countrywide be more active and reach out with greater frequency to the people.

According to him, he is aware that some Councillors do engage the populace while others do very little and what they bring out at statutory meetings is what they get from engaging with the people on the ground.

Talking about garbage, Minister Whittaker said vendors, especially those selling illegally on the roadside at Anna Regina, are contributing to the build-up around the market and on the parapet which causes drains to be blocked.

URGENTLY ADDRESSED
He said that issue must be urgently addressed by the IMC and remarked that all vendors should have garbage disposal bags where they are vending.

Whittaker maintained that vendors have the responsibility for disposing of their own garbage.

He said Cabinet is determined to move against persons who are encumbering Government reserves and charged Municipalities to serve notices on such persons with a clear deadline to remove.

He said a record should be made to show the number of notices served by the Council.

The Minister commended the Anna Regina Town Council for spending its 2013 subvention on roads, box culverts and improving streets and drainage in the Municipality, from Three Friends to Walton Hall.

He said, while Government supports all the Municipalities with subventions, there is a limit to how much can be given and insisted that revenue collected must be spent in a very responsible way.

The Minister was accompanied at the meeting by Regional Chairman, Mr.Parmanand Persaud.

Minister Norman Whittaker and other officials at the meeting