-Minister Bulkan

COMMUNITIES Minister Ronald Bulkan has said that it is only due to the “special status” of Georgetown as the capital city and the deplorable conditions which existed in it recently, that the central government decided to step in and grant a bailout to the City Council.

The municipality must not, however, take it as a “given” that it can continue to bank up millions of dollars in debt and then expect to be bailed out by the government, the minister told the Guyana Chronicle.

The government last December provided a bail-out to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to the tune of more than $400M to cover debts to the municipality’s two main garbage contractors, Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons Waste Management Inc.  “The Minister of Finance has said in no uncertain terms that councils should not see this as a given, and should not seek to become reliant on central government to fund their activities.

“It is only because of the special status of Georgetown as the capital city and the conditions existing that the central government was forced to intervene.

“So I have communicated that sentiment of Cabinet that Council should not turn to the central government to keep bailing them out, but that they should be able to manage their affairs in a more professional and responsible manner. It will ultimately ensure their independence,” Bulkan stated.

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had said that the City was in a garbage crisis. “The garbage is killing me. I going to government to beg for this bailout to bring this City back in order,” she had told councillors. Her ‘begging’ comment came in response to Town Clerk Royston King’s statement at the meeting, when he said depending on a government bailout dilutes the authority and autonomy of the City Council.

Councillor James Samuels had pointed out that the municipality ought to be run as a business. “Let’s get down and do business,” he urged.