ONCE again the City Council is in the limelight, this time over allegations that the city treasurer took a bribe from a supplier. Mr. Hamilton Green used that opportunity to appear on television to say what he said and did not say about the Council. When will it end? Ask the Mayor. He will blame everyone else except himself. My answer to that is simple. Things will continue as they are until Green goes his way and give competent persons an opportunity to make a more meaningful contribution to the city. To me this is an indictment against the poor leadership of Mr. Hamilton Green. This gentleman has been the Mayor of Georgetown for over 14 years. He has fought tooth and nail to stay in that position. His foremost achievement has been the dismissal of black senior officers who are independent in thought and action and are not loyal to him. It is an old political tactic used by myopic politicians who believe that they own the minds and souls of people, who work with them and that they alone were responsible for their very existence. Green is wrong.
I have been told by friends at the Council that if an officer is not committed to Mr. Hamilton Green that officer is deemed as not performing. Performance is judged not on the basis of any proper appraisal but on the opinion of one man, who has an extremely dismal track record both in and out of government and no serious academic resume. No other mayor has had so many quarrels and fights with officers of the council. The old adage is applicable here, “A bad workman will always quarrel with his tools.”
Funny enough all the officers he has caused to be dismissed are doing well in other enterprises. And in spite of the dismissal of those well qualified and skilled officers, who Green claimed were not good for the council, the council is none the better off. In fact, it is the worst period in the history of the Town Council. This shows that there are other problems affecting the council. I am putting it to citizens that Green himself might be the biggest problem at the city council. For all these years he has not seen the need to give one of his colleagues a chance to lead the council, to do something new. Though he stumbles he continues. Perhaps he thinks that they are all inferior to him or that he alone can make a difference. We property owners have been waiting to see that difference but we have waited in vain.
Beyond that Mr. Green has achieved nothing positive for the people of Georgetown. The government of Guyana has to do all the work of the council from road repairs, to drainage works to repairing bridges. In his reply to this letter you can expect him to do the well known song and dance about government not giving money or not paying its taxes. But money could not be the only problem; it has to be his ability to really show leadership and formulate a clear vision for the city. Why is Mr. Green presiding over such a dirty city? For years, ha has travelled overseas and has seen modern cities but he appears to be quite comfortable traversing the streets of Georgetown in his jeep and seeing the stagnant drains, bushes and the filth running from alleyways.
In spite of this he holds himself out as a man of action and a moralist. It is the story of the King’s new clothes.
Finally, he has the face to protest the government when he himself should be protested by discontented citizens for being Mayor over such a dirty city and a dump site that burns all the time. I believe that he would go down in history as the worst ever Mayor of Georgetown. This has not yet dawned on him so he continues to merrily play his song of who is to blame. He thinks that people are not seeing through his scheme to blame everyone else except himself. Then again he could be right about us because he has been mayor of our city for 14 years with out any serious challenge.