A dubious relationship still exists between the PNC/R and Mayor Green

OLD Kai finds it strange that the PNC/R was allowed to rack up close to 100 million dollars in taxes owed to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council over a period of 15 years and it was apparently not a concern to those in charge of the management of our Capital City.Rather, when this reality was exposed, no less than Mayor Hamilton Green attacked Central Government by stating that he believed “there was a sustained campaign by the present administration to destabilise the management of the city.”

Any why was the PPP/C Government accused of attempting to destabilise the management of the City?

Simply because after being made aware that the cash strapped Council had debtors such as the PNC/R owing hundreds of millions of dollars, it requested that they make a concerted effort to collect outstanding sums owed as it was impossible and unfair to rely on Government subventions solely for the management of the City.

A Kaieteur News article in January 2010 had quoted a statement issued by the Local Government Ministry which noted that “the records show that the City did not collect rates and taxes for the Sophia property, where the PNCR headquarters is located, for over a decade.”

It also added that, “The PNCR has several other properties in the City for which no rates and taxes have been collected for more than 15 years. The partial records available to the Ministry show outstanding amounts totaling some $100 million.”

The ministry had also contended that “the main Opposition party has so far shown an unwillingness to meet its obligation in spite of the amnesty being granted on interest on debts owed to the Council.”

The most stunning piece of revelation followed, “Now that Mayor Green has been embraced once again by the PNCR and now sits on the Executive Committee of that party, the non-collection of rates and taxes must be seen as a conflict of interest on his part.”

The Kaieteur News article had reported on the fact that the PNC/R had finally honored their decade long obligation by paying their taxes in 2010.

Just recently, citizens had learnt that Mayor Green and his wife had owed substantial sums in taxes on a property for several years and after this was revealed by Town Clerk Carol Sooba, barring the excuses proffered, the monies were eventually paid over to the Council.

Now let us examine this a bit closer, the PNC with Mayor Green which is now the APNU, have always had a majority in the Georgetown City Council and now wants to convince citizens that they are capable and can do a better job than the PPP/C in managing the affairs of our Capital City.

However, it is reasonable to assume that the large sum of money they neglected to pay over to the Council for the management of the City for over a decade was partly responsible for the deterioration in service of the M&CC. Citizens suffered and continue to suffer because they apparently abandoned their elected responsibilities. So why should they be given another opportunity now? Barring the new name and change in colours, do they deserve to be placed in charge of the Capital City for another period?

Make no mistake about it, they will certainly begin to pander to the sensitivities of citizens, hoping their traditional support base will buy into their ‘us versus them’ messages and forget how they have suffered from clogged drains, garbage piles, unmaintained roads, mosquito infestations, etc, all because of their inept management.

They will try to escape blame by putting up new faces but it is the same ole mentality and we must ask, why after the admission from PNC/R General Secretary Oscar Clarke since 2003 that Mayor Green was ‘inefficient’ did they maintain with him at the helm of the Council, rather than have internal elections for a new mayor and even more so, brought him back again into their party and placed him in the Executive Committee?

Let us reflect once again on the Stabroek News article of March 2003, which quoted no less than PNC/R General Secretary Oscar Clarke as accusing Mayor Green of hindering the effective management of the M&CC. “The decisions made,” he said, “are never kept because the top managers, including the Mayor himself, tend to make on the spur of the moment decisions and changes which tend to have implications because they were never taken into account in the first place.”

Let us also recall his description of Mayor Green leadership abilities, “I don’t think Green’s leadership on the council has been exemplary…if you are the leader and you have such a terrible relationship with the top administrators how could you get their support? It can’t be that all of them are bad. Something got to be wrong with you.”

Yet, the PNC/R despite this damning admission on the leadership ability of Mayor Green and their very own refusal to pay over taxes which are in turn used to manage the responsibilities of the Council, would have us the Citizens of Georgetown believe that they are in no way responsible for the state of our Capital City.

Tomorrow, we will show how the current attacks against Town Clerk Carol Sooba are no different from what has occurred to several females, including a very famous lady, once the Deputy Mayor back in 1996.