AFTER listening to City Hall complaining about being starved for funds and hearing government’s side, I am convinced that the Mayor does not care and has no interest in the City. It is disappointing to see the council encountering the same problem several times a year which just shows that the people there cannot manage the affairs of the city.

If the council collects billions of dollars from government in rates and taxes every year, what does it do with all that money? The Council does not maintain drainage and irrigation, roads or public infrastructure in the City. As a matter of fact, all that it does is deal with the garbage disposal but even that one thing they cannot do. If government is expected to take care of everything in the city then why is there a council?

The council should tell the citizens how much money it collects in rates and taxes every year and show what it does with it. If the council received over $700 million from the government in rates and taxes since 2005 what has it done with that money?

If the Council was smart, it would have taken the millions it has to pay to the garbage collectors and purchase garbage trucks. With the trucks then the council would be able to manage the garbage disposal problem but then again with the management issues this would probably be a problem too.

Why isn’t the Kaieteur News highlighting this? It all screams of corruption and yet the newspaper which seems to be obsessed with pointing to issues and projects that speaks to corruption is conveniently mum. Why doesn’t the paper take the Council to task for its mismanagement and misappropriation of funds and blatant incompetence?

The residents of the city should take the council to task and force it to function properly, since after all the elected leaders are accountable to the people. The current situation in the city is unbearable, having to pass by piles of garbage along the roads is a discouragement to anyone and the city’s solution was to spray the garbage. How does that help? It still points to an unsanitary situation that could have serious health implications.

I think that the Mayor should indeed do the right thing and demit office. The city, I am sure, would be a much better place with his departure.
LAURA SINGH