— of works being undertaken by Public Infrastructure Ministry in City
TOWN Clerk Royston King has complained that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure continues to do works in the City without properly informing the municipality.
To better allow the Council to participate in the planning and execution of projects in Georgetown, King said he felt obligated to write the permanent secretary within the Ministry to request an arrangement be put in place.
“I have noticed that there is a number of projects, infrastructural and other works that are happening in various parts of the City without any reference to the City and that it is unfair to councillors who are representatives of their people, and it is very untidy for our own record-keeping systems at Council,” King told City councillors.
He said if works are being done in the Council’s jurisdiction, it should be properly informed of such and not in a by-the-way fashion.
“As we speak, there is the construction of a walkway or pavement at Woolford Avenue, which of course is a very good project and will benefit citizens and school children, but the Council has no information on that project. We don’t know who the contractor is; we have no drawings; we don’t know the dimensions; we don’t know the timelines; we don’t know the completion dates; we don’t know anything, so that in our records, we don’t have any information as regards that facility that is being constructed, and a number of other facilities.”
Mayor Patricia Chase-Green said she was happy that this issue was raised because often times when she contacts City Engineer, Colvern Venture, for information on various projects, he has no information on them.
“At the end of the day, whichever institution assists us, we still have to be the ones to do maintenance. We need to be informed and respected as a municipality because at the end of the day the councillors involved still have to answer to the people,” the mayor observed.
Venture had recently told the Council that in a conversation he had with Minister David Patterson, he raised the issue of works being done in the City without the knowledge of the Council.
