ONCE AGAIN, the Government has had to come to the rescue of the Georgetown City Council, and it could not have been more welcome for timing and variations in allocations to prevent citizens from virtually choking on the nasty smell emanating from disgusting spreading piles of garbage as well as helping to bring much needed relief in outstanding payments for the Council’s workers.
For all the generosity of spirit on the part of the Central Government and President Bharrat Jagdeo in particular, as warmly expressed by Deputy Mayor, Robert Williams on Friday at the conclusion of negotiations, the reality is that this latest ‘bailout’ for the City Council is a syndrome that cannot and should not be sustained.
Apart from being unique, including its frequency, quantum of funding and poor performance ratings of the Council in managing its own obligations, when compared with the relations and accountability factor between Central and Local Government administrations in other capitals of the Caribbean Community, it would be appreciated by both supporters and opponents of the PPP/C administration that there must be a cap on this ‘bailout’ syndrome.
The private business sector has proven to be an enlightened partner of the Central Government in helping to save Georgetown from what the more angry and depressed among us view as a city sinking under the grotesque heaps and mountains of garbage, stagnant canals and heavily clogged drains, not to mention other unsightly features that mock the once stout reputation of this capital as a ‘Garden City’ of the English-speaking Caribbean.
As if overcome by the recurring administrative lapses in proper governance of the affairs of the City Council, or in seeking to rationalise their own diminishing civic pride in their environment, the residents of Georgetown must also share some responsibility for allowing, over the years, the abysmal decline of the reputation of Georgetown that now reflects so much of what has gone wrong with us as a people—irrespective of political affiliations. Failure to pay rates and taxes to the Council is also a habit that must be checked, and in turn the provision of services now being denied city residents.
In covering Friday’s critical meeting that involved Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker, Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn and City Hall officials (Deputy Mayor Williams; Town Clerk Yonette Pluck and City Engineer Lloyd Alleyne), we reported in yesterday’s edition the approaches being adopted for implementation of the agreement reached on expenditure and accountability for the new $135 million subvention from the government.
Apart from focused attention on the immediate reduction of the ugly, disgraceful sights of garbage and the clogged drains, urgent attention would also be paid to ensure that outstanding payments are made to workers, as well as the disbursement of funds owed to garbage disposal contractors who had withheld services due to non-payment.
In expressing the City Council’s appreciation for the latest financial bailout by the government, Deputy Mayor Williams has noted that the City Council “will now be in a better position to be more focused on other areas of revenue earning.” This would include the collection of outstanding monies owed to the Council.
We shall be monitoring the promised improvement to give a much-needed ‘facelift’ to our too long neglected capital city of Georgetown.