The Implementation Committee(IC) and stakeholders, with civil society and the private sector, engaged each other at a meeting, which took place on Thursday evening at ‘De Impeccable’ Banquet Hall. The event was part of the continuing support of the City Council by the Implementation Committee on which more will be reported  in the Guyana Chronicle, periodically. Based on queries raised in the Auditor General’s(AG) Report of 2008, the Burrowes Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the Minister of Local Government to investigate the operations of the M&CC and make recommendations.
Mr. Keith Burrowes was appointed Commissioner and the terms of reference of the Commission included: investigating the operations of the offices highlighted in the AG’s Report; examining the procedures regulating staff loans and advances; examining irregularities in rates collection; examining municipal accounts in commercial banks.

The terms of reference of the Commission also included: restructuring of municipal departments and their operations; pronouncing on the culpability, if any, of the Town Clerk and City Treasurer consequenced by extant investigations; and making recommendations and report findings to the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development.

A number of the recommendations have not been put into effect because of the lack of capacity, lack of political will within the Council, and the lack of a conducive management structure.
The (IC) has accepted that the process to implement all of the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations is a long one. But the IC will be reporting on its progress to implement the recommendations in media reports on a monthly basis.
The need to review the recommendations already approved and implemented, and those approved but not yet implemented as they relate to the financial issues necessitated a meeting on Thursday that also focused on the 2011 budget.
The IC has provided in most cases all of the resources to the Council in terms of financial and technical resources in order to enhance the capacity to manage the resources aimed at being garnered through the improvements recommended.
The IC was able to provide to the Council ‘in kind’, material and technical support ranging in the millions of dollars which did not come from within the City’s coffers. One programme alone for the Council cost $15 million.
“We have been able to provide oversight to ensure the transparency of resources that the Council has been given,” said the Chairman of the IC, Keith Burrowes.
In 2010, the IC  focused on two areas. The first is the full computerisation of all accounts, the establishment of a general ledger,and assisting in the preparation of financial statements for the past five years. “We will work to have these audits done as early as possible. I will propose that the financial statements for 2010 be published in the national newspapers,” he said.
Last year, the IC provided technical and financial support for the production of the budget, which was described as the most results-oriented and comprehensive ever.
As a result of the preparatory work for last year’s budget, the IC worked closely with budget officials of the City Treasury, providing them with the skills necessary to contribute to a greater level to the 2011 budget.
While in the past the Council had consultations prior to the budget, the effectiveness of this has not been determined.
“The purpose of this consultation is to have the Council present the budget and its critical assumptions to the stakeholders so that they have a better appreciation of the problems faced by the Council and would be in a better position to advocate on behalf of the Council,” said Burrowes.
According to those present, the event was well attended. Chaired by the Chairman of the IC, Burrowes, the meeting unearthed a number of critical issues. The key targets of the Council’s budget and how their achievement could improve services were identified. The issue of equity when it comes to payment of rates and taxes was examined. The issue of valuations was discussed. The nature of support that the Council expects from various stakeholders, including Government, was discussed and an examination was made of all the key service delivery areas of the Council.
The Finance Committee made a presentation at the forum and Mayor Hamilton Green also pointed out some issues of pressing concern to the Council.
The Chairman of the IC also made a presentation,during which he explained to the stakeholders present the desired outcome of the forum.
The issue of valuations was examined from a number of perspectives. First, it was examined from the point of view of rates and taxes and note was made that for a number of years there has not been an increase, notwithstanding the increases in the cost of managing the City.
The Chairman of the IC felt very strongly that it is immoral for residents to convert themselves into businesses. The IC has pledged to assist in physical verification exercises with a view to regularising the situation. The Chairman was of the view that even without increasing taxes, once the exercise is completed the Council is expected to see a significant increase in revenue.
The forum discussed at length the issue of valuation of properties. The Private Sector Commission(PSC), through its Chairman Ramesh Dookhoo raised some very important points. The IC indicated that they have developed a software programme that hopefully will assist the Council in scrutinising the list of clients, thereby avoiding the embarrassment of sending incorrect information to the taxpayer as to what they owe.
Garbage also came up as one of the more pressing issues of concern. At the forum the Director of the Solid Waste Unit at the Council briefed stakeholders of the changes expected and indicated that there will be a public education programme coming on board soon.
The meeting also discussed the issue of people dumping their garbage in an irresponsible manner. The Chairman said that while the Council is not in a position to provide CCTV cameras to catch such persons, they might be able to have some intelligence that could be used to embarrass persons found so doing.
The City Engineer dealt extensively with the issues relating to squatting and it was indicated that unless this is addressed, flooding of Georgetown will continue whenever there is a flood and the flooding will get worse.
There was also extensive discussion at the meeting on how the IC will continue to work with the Council to reduce the deficit situation. This also includes lobbying both Government and other stakeholders.
At the forum, the issue of zoning and adherence to the City’s By-laws was also ventilated. The Chairman of the IC said that urgent work is needed to compile another Georgetown development plan, which will start from 2011. He indicated that he will raise this matter with the Minister of Housing and Water since the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) takes the lead on this.
It was noted that the current zoning laws have been on the books since 1946. The Georgetown Development Plan seeks to clarify issues around zoning and other developments in the City.

“However it is apparent that the plan which ended last year, even though it was approved by Cabinet, was never implemented,” Burrowes said.
He posited that the only way to resolve some of the current problems in the City is to ensure rigid enforcement of all City By-laws including zoning.
The IC has given its undertaking that it is prepared to work with stakeholders to ensure that the next 10-year plan is completed as a matter of urgency.
During the meeting, participants had heated exchanges and the Council was in a position to provide information on the constraints currently facing them. One of these is a serious lack of capacity when it comes to management. However, it was also noted and discussed that the Public Health Department, the Markets Department and the Solid Waste Department have been performing creditably.
The IC Chairman said that one way of addressing the constraints in the absence of financial resources is to focus on core activities and strategically establish alliances with several other organisations whereby there could be exchanging of information especially in those areas where stakeholders could be involved. This would enable the Council to be more strategic in the use of its limited resources.
The PSC was high in praise of the IC for its sacrifice made and urged the City Council and others to continue to engage this body in a very objective manner and ensure that its sacrifice in terms of human and financial resources are not wasted at the end of the day.
At the meeting, Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jennifer Webster gave a commitment to personally undertake to ensure that the backlog of valuations within the Valuations Department are expedited as a matter of urgency, since it could have a direct impact on the Council’s revenues.
The IC intends to prepare a comprehensive report for circulation to all stakeholders. Further, the Chairman of the IC is in the process of developing a monitoring and evaluation toolkit to be used by members of the Council with a view to ascertaining the extent to which the targets set out in the budget are met.
These, along with other tangible recommendations have been implemented at no cost to the Council. The IC understands the wish of persons for these initiatives to be sustained. It expects the Council and management will work together to bring about greater benefits.
In the weeks ahead, the IC will be reporting on further support provided to the City Council. While some of these items can be seen as activities and not recommendations, one needs to consider where the Council was before the work of the IC.

Some of the KEY recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry(COI)
1. The COI’s recommendation to terminate the services of the Town Clerk and City Treasurer was adopted.
2. The COI’s recommendation to revamp the budget process has been completed. This decision informed the compilation of the 2010 and 2011 budget.
3. The COI’s recommendation to develop monthly financial statements; management accounts. Formats completed.
4. Recommendation to clear up final accounts and to have accounts audited for 2002 to present ongoing. Computerisation of Treasury Department now ongoing.
5.The recommendation to have a tax database which does not provide any useful information other than balances revamped and new databases developed. The IC is working with the Council to sanitise the list with regard to the database. With the implementation of the new database the Council now has the information structured by wards, different classifications of buildings, etc. It is hoped that when the sanitisation of the data is completed, the credibility of the Council’s figures would be enhanced.
6. The IC has provided support to the Public Health Department of the M&CC which has resulted in improved service to patients,especially pregnant mothers.
7. The IC has completed the first stage of the establishment of a debt recovery unit, with the completion of the internal system manual and the debt recovery manual. The IC further expects to garner resources in the first year of the operation of the debt recovery unit so as not to put strain on the Council’s resources.
8. The IC has established a database for tracking the disposal of properties and this is expected to enhance revenues i.e. rates and taxes and compliance fees.