–Benschop

By Ariana Gordon
MAJOR political parties should not seek to dominate the platform at Local Government Elections (LGE), says Mark Benschop, a potential candidate for the upcoming elections in March 2016.Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle about his vision for the city of Georgetown, Benschop said, “Major political parties should not seek to split the votes of independent parties or persons contesting the LGE.”

He believes that major political parties should throw support behind parties such as his.
“Team Benschop is calling on the major political parties to support us… we want the government to throw its weight behind Team Benschop, to ensure that we make the necessary changes,” he said.
Should “big” political parties decide to contest the elections, it would be an insult to groups or persons who want to contest as well. He said it would be seen as major parties “basically trampling on the rights of those individuals”.
The law, he said, does in fact stipulate that anyone can contest the elections, and, of course, that includes major political parties.

BRING IT ON!
“Some people argue that major parties should not be participating in the elections. In my view, if the major parties want to contest in the LGE and take a sound thrashing, then bring it on! Let’s go!”
Benschop believes that the move by government to call LGE in 2016 is a good one. “Local government elections in any part of the world are an essential, important part of democracy. And any country that dismisses that form of democracy can be considered as a semi-dictatorship,” he told this publication.
Benschop believes the refusal to hold LGE over the past 23 years was due in part to the lack of a “forceful” opposition. “Now that we have a new government and they seem serious about the holding of LGE, I think that is the step in the right direction. I welcome that, and I now look forward for not only the participation of my group, but others who want to throw their hats in the race,” Benschop declared.
Benschop called for “a free and fair LGE”, stressing that it must be a democratic and not a superficial process, as there is a great need for “real democracy at the grassroots level”.

TEAM BENSCHOP
According to Benschop, his team will comprise a wide cross-section of persons from various political, religious and ethnic persuasions.
“At this stage, we are working towards creating a team of individuals who have a vision to transform the city into what it ought to be,” he posited.
He explained that his team is focused on empowering youth, and as such, the public can look forward to seeing quite a few young people supporting him.
“We can move Georgetown into the 21st century, where it ought to be. We can restore pride in the city; we can start programmes in terms of getting jobs for our young people, not just say they are only fit to clean drains. We want to move beyond that, through our group, to empower residents, especially through our group in Georgetown,” he declared.
Benschop noted that his team is currently in the “embryo stage”; but, he said, by the end of this month, most things should be set. “We expect by the end of this month to be where we want to be. We are setting up our campaign office, we have our logo, our slogan…” he added.

The team’s slogan, ‘We win, you win’ according to the mayoral hopeful, signifies that no one will be excluded. “Team Benschop wins, everyone in Georgetown wins! No one is going to be left out. What we promise to do is what is going to be done,” he vowed.

COMMITTED
He stressed that his team comprises a “bunch of individuals who are committed to the development of the city; sincere, and are ready to work for the people.”
The Team Benschop Campaign Office is located at 294 Quamina Street, Georgetown and will be opened from January 1. Benschop says he is not afraid to compete in the LGE, and feels he has a good chance of being successful.
“We may be a small body, but with a big name. I have been in the communities for almost 20 years, working with people in the communities, whether to fight against human rights’ violations, injustice, and even the clean-up campaign that had started over 15 years ago. Whether it is West (Ruimveldt), East (Ruimveldt), Cemetery…”
Benschop says he is not a ‘new kid on the block’, so to speak, as he has been working round the clock in communities to ensure that people are comfortable.
“I started self-help groups through the Benschop Foundation, (and) paid people to clean up the entire cemetery area. This is not something that is just based on elections, and I am jumping up to say ‘hey, this is what I’m going to do’. I have demonstrated that, over the years, once given the opportunity, I can get the job done; not only just cleaning the city, but making it into a 21st century city, where we would be able to create round-abouts and probably over-passes as well. Georgetown just cannot remain the same it was 100 years ago,” Benschop stressed.

MUNICIPAL COURT
He disclosed that his team has several plans, among which are installation of parking meters; collection of rates and taxes from all defaulters; have city police deal with traffic violations, as opposed to the Guyana Police Force; create a Municipal Court; establish community centres for young people; and provide “city scholarships” to deserving ones.
“We have a plan to, instead of having private contractors do the garbage, we want City Hall to be able to do that; where the $200M plus spent on garbage contractors, we want that money to remain at City Hall, so that we can create jobs for individuals and keep the money within the city.
“We are also looking at starting up traffic violations; that is something the city should have been doing and not burden the Guyana Police Force (with); they can go out there and fight crime. Let the city police do that. We are talking about the creation of a municipal court, where every cent collected, instead of it going to Central Government, it goes directly into the city’s account, so we can do the things we need to as city officials, instead of having to depend on Central Government,” an impassioned Benschop declared.
That aside, Benschop believes that the entire rates and taxes system at the Mayor and City Council needs to be computerised, so persons can easily check their records. Additionally, it is his belief that workers of the municipality need to be better paid. “I want to take away that lunch money mentality from them… we must be able to adequately pay workers of City Hall!” he said.
According to Benschop, “The city can create its own money,” and those avenues must be explored. He said the rights of vendors must be examined, and his team will be meeting with vendors to hear of their concerns and work towards finding solutions to their problems.

REACH OUT
“Team Benschop will be friendly, reaching out to people, not just to vendors. (We will) reach out to big businesses also. We all have a duty to work to keep the city clean, to ensure there is law and order here. How can we attain these things? Big businesses have to ensure that their rates and taxes are paid. Nobody is going to owe $22-$30M …our approach is not going to be an antagonistic one…” he assured.
His team’s approach will be one of democracy and transparency. He stressed that nepotism will not be tolerated. “We are not going to entertain that,” Benschop said, noting: “We believe that the millions of dollars for contracts must be given to those within the Georgetown area, and not individuals from outside.”
He commits to working along with Central Government in the interest of the residents of Georgetown. “We will be there to ensure that there are checks and balances; that Central Government gives this city what it deserves. It is not going to be an antagonistic approach, neither are we going to allow Central Government to do what they want to us,” he told the Guyana Chronicle.
Benschop said one of the first things that would be done at City Hall, should he be elected to office, is an audit of the entity. “We want the books to be audited over the last five years…we want to see the mistakes made, and correct them,” he said.
Benschop has promised to be a “no-nonsense mayor”, once elected. “I will be working for the people of Georgetown,” he said. He believes he is the most suitable candidate for the post, as he has been interacting with the ordinary man in the street for a number of years, understands their cries, and knows what has to be done to ensure that the residents of Georgetown are happy.
LGE will be held on March 18, 2016 after more than two decades of not having been held.