UYANA’S inaugural Mayors’ Conference featuring participation from the nine municipalities across Guyana is expected to open on April 20, 2017 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.
The event aims at exhibiting the wealth of each municipality, encouraging greater inter-municipal collaboration and creating opportunities for economic development.
The conference is scheduled for April 20-22 and is expected to see a wide cross-section of participants including regional health, education, infrastructure and environmental officials.
The gathering will see in attendance mayors and their deputies as well as town clerks and their deputies along with one other councillor.
President David Granger and Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, will be invited to address the event. The meeting will focus on the advancement of a green economy and will feature the multicultural talents within municipalities. It is also geared towards advancing the development of capital towns in each town as well as providing a framework for the reconstitution of the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM).
Among the highlights of the three-day event are the “Mayor’s Ball” and a “Welcoming Banquet.” The mayors are expected to discuss several issues including leadership by example, legal reforms relating to by-laws, boosting revenue generation, inadequate subventions, municipal courts and periodic inter-agency engagement.
Mayor of Anna Regina Rabindranauth Mohan said that fiscal management and the role of the diaspora in the economic and infrastructural development of councils will be high on the agenda. According to Corriverton Mayor Ganesh Gangadin, the conference will prove to be very effective, especially as it relates to procurement procedures and the role of the council.
Mayor of New Amsterdam Kirt Wynter noted that the occasion is very timely and will serve to provide a forum where ideas can be shared.
“We have a responsibility as elected officials to deliver to the citizens what we have promised within our various towns and so this meeting will provide an opportunity where persons can understand their roles and functions,” Wynter commented.
Mayor of Rose Hall Vijai Ramoo, in endorsing Gangadin’s sentiments, also expressed concern about the lack of understanding among councillors about their roles and functions.
His hope is that the meeting will provide a framework for such discussions. Mayor of Linden Carwyn Holland said his municipality will benefit greatly from much improved procurement practices since persons are generally resistant to change.
“There is a disinterest in accountability and transparency and under our watch we want to ensure that there is value for money,” the mayor of the mining town said.
According to Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green, her tenure has recently been fraught with controversy with regards to container fees and parking meters. However, she remarked that the conference should serve to iron out some of the challenges that town councils face on a daily basis.
“Some mayors do not understand their roles. You cannot exercise your authority if you are not supported by the Council. You cannot operate in isolation. You’re not an independent person,” the City Mayor explained.
Chase-Green added that mayors and their Councils must be guided by Chapter 28:01 of the Municipal and District Council’s Act as it provides details relating to their roles and functions.
The expectation is that the conference will serve as a blueprint to formalise the planning and preparation of mayoral meeting. The re-elected mayors and the new incoming mayor of Corriverton will take their oath of office during the event.