Dear Editor,
THERE is a letter appearing in the press under the signature of the Mayor of Georgetown in which she seeks to convey to the readers, that the protest which was mounted against the parking meter project last Friday outside the City Hall, was politically motivated.It is sad that someone who was given the opportunity to rise to this office could see things only through a political prism, and who after seeing members of civil society, the private sector, religious bodies, various NGOs, the public sector, members of the academia of Guyana etc, could arrive at such a blinkered, insular and unintelligent conclusion. How does she account for the present and the Deputy Mayor-Elect of Georgetown being at the forefront of the exercise?
It has become pellucid that the Mayor and Town Clerk and the other members of the ‘Gang of Eight’ are out of touch with reality. They seem unaware of the abandonment of the parking areas in the downtown district, of the sharp drop off in business that is being done in the capital’s business centre, of the financial strain the average Guyanese is under, and the considerable feeling of antipathy and mistrust that most Guyanese have for the Georgetown municipality.
It is extremely disingenuous for her to associate herself with the contents of such a letter, and indeed be disrespectful to the persons who were peacefully protesting against the ridiculous parking arrangement. What is the relevance of their political persuasions to the issue anyway? Can’t she simply understand that persons are unhappy to pay another tax, 80 percent of which will go to another company? To pay more money to an entity that has not been audited in the last 20 years. That persons simply cannot afford another tax.
But one can understand why this lady jumped to this conclusion, as those persons who formed the counter protest were specially rounded up and were constituted mainly of workers of the Council and the Parking Meter Company, who incidentally are friends and family of the Gang of of Eight. So she concludes that everyone rents a crowd as they did.
She speaks of the parking meter initiative already providing more than 50 jobs for our young people; and that another 40 individuals are being trained to be properly employed within the next two months with the project as though this is a virtue, but fails to mention that it is just another ‘Friends and Family Affair,’ but more importantly seems not to be able to rationalize that whilst 90 persons may gain employment there, more than 200 persons may lose their jobs from the various stores and businesses in the areas where the parking meters are located due to the more than 50% slump in business, as a direct result of this encumbrance. What twisted logic!
Quite laughably, she refers the new era of local democracy, as though she and many of the members of the Gang of Eight were not there for the last 21 years just sitting around arguing about petty issues and receiving their remuneration ,whilst the city was trashed with rubbish, unkempt parapets, stagnant alleyways and drains, broken and impassable roads and a host of environmental negatives. By the way, News Flash Madam Mayor, the city is rapidly getting back to those dark, undemocratic local government days, now that you have emptied the coffers and have no proper maintenance plan.
But why are you so panicky and intolerant to citizens expressing their disapproval to a municipal initiative through a statement or action without the use of violence? This should be a foremost pillar of the new era of local democracy that you so glibly talk about.
Regards
Sean Moniz