GEORGETOWN has been officially declared the garbage city, an eyesore for all to look at. The revulsion of a place we call capital city did not occur overnight, it was a slow, insidious slide which everyone saw coming except the government; at least they pretend not to see this taking place. Ever since the present mayor was installed Georgetown began a descent from which it has seen no return. The situation was not so dire then due to the fact that lots of money was circulating and most importantly, the government of the day was sympathetic to Hamilton Green’s plight as mayor.
Theirs was the mistakenly held view that those bold statements he made against his former comrades in the PNC were indicative of a maverick politician who was making a break from a dubious past. Well, that was not the case. The PPP was duped into believing that Green had changed, rather, he was just playing the usual political game.
He was being cosy with the PPP to gain favours while castigating his peers in the PNC, very good political footwork. As one rightly said, once a PNC always a PNC. This unhealthy alliance persisted for sometime until his intransigence became obvious when the love relationship immediately came apart. Green is now at the place where we say in Guyanese parlance  “he has turned cross-way in the PPP/C’s  you know where”
Things have gotten so bad that even City Hall where his office sits, has met its demise, the falling roof and dilapidated surroundings all tell a sad story. The garbage piles up while Georgetown stinks. Green for his part has absolved himself from any responsibility where the management of the city is concerned. He is putting the blame squarely at the feet of the government. So what is the purpose in having a mayor? Why is there a municipality? Why do citizens pay rates and taxes? Isn’t it the city council’s duty to see the administration of the city’s affairs? According to my knowledge of the day-to-day running of a municipality, that is solely the city council’s responsibility. The government may step in with a subvention from time to time but they are not the delegated ones to do council’s business. Laughingly enough, this is precisely what Green is telling his followers that the government is “taking over”; they want to run the city. Isn’t this stupidity at its highest?! Who would want to preside over a commune of rubbish? The government is very concerned about the city because it is the place that holds the seat of the PPP/C administration and what an embarrassment it reveals.
I urge the government to get Green out. This disgraceful business has been allowed to continue far too long.