GEORGETOWN Mayor Alfred Mentore and People’s National Congress Leader, Aubrey Norton, could ‘cry a river’ as hard as they like about the alleged manner in which the central government is handling the business of Georgetown, no one will hear them or sympathise with their explanations.
No right-thinking or objective citizen of Georgetown would fault the government for looking after the needs of citizens, which the mayor and his political minions at the council neglect daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
The residents have been complaining about the huge piles of garbage in the city that is left in a wanton state outside of their residences, hospitals, state agencies, businesses and council properties.
They have complained about the state of certain streets, communities, parks and recreational facilities that fall under the local government and municipal ambit of control, many of them falling into a sordid state of neglect and disrepair over a number of years.
The residents are tired of the blame game between the council and the government when it floods, with the latter forced to take up the lion’s share of responsibility, which has led to remarkable progress over the last 15 years.
They have noted that the Georgetown City Council is treated as a treasure chest into which they are forced and coerced to pay their hard-earned rates and taxes, but they get poor service in the end.
The residents are angry, tired and feel betrayed constantly by the council, and that’s a fact that any survey would justify.
Mayor Mentore and the PNC are just plundering the council’s resources through several get-rich schemes. They threaten the residents into compliance with parking meters, higher taxes and other schemes. They are just bullying the residents who basically want a lean and clean local government body that eases the burden, which many times the central government has to carry.
Residents want the garbage picked up, the city clean and all other services provided efficiently by the council.
This is not about power and control as Norton and Mentore are seeking to ramrod down the minds of citizens. This is about incompetence, mismanagement, misuse of resources and manpower and financial irregularities that are eating away at the fabric of Georgetown. This is about the ineptitude, unprofessionalism and inaction of Hamilton Greeen, Mayor Mentore, Norton, PNC, AFC and other personalities of the Georgetown City Council.
Countless consultants, unions and professionals have said it, including former town clerks Beulah Willliams, Carol Soober and Yonette Pluck. The late Keith Burrowes and Ramon Gaskin said it. They had said the city council needs urgent attention and reform.
They have left the government with no choice but to use the administrative and executive powers it has to act in the public’s interest and move certain things from under the council’s control. The government’s patience has been ‘maxed out’ with this current council, which throws stones at the residents and seeks to hide its actions in the night.
While I support the idea of local governance and municipal authority, if these are being abused, there must be executive leadership shown by the central government. This must be legal and follow due course.
The city council’s ‘eyes pass’ the residents of Georgetown. They have abused us and are seeking to go to court now to continue their abuse. No. Let them have their day in court with this PPP government, which will ‘max out’ their ‘little resources.’
The central government is right to take possession of the properties and streets. The government is right to take control of key revenue-making streams. The government is right to get Mentore and Norton out of their offices and running to the courts.
I am principled and right is right and wrong is wrong. The City Council and its bed fellow, the PNC, does not own any resident or group in the city. The city residents could get them out of power as they did at the general elections, where the PNC and Norton were kicked to the back of the class.
The Mayor and the PNC should be focused on improving the livelihoods of Georgetown residents and be happy that the little areas of authority are now under the control of the central government, which amounts to less stress for them.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.