Dear Editor,

AS a property owner, resident and business owner in our capital city, I would like to enquire of the powers that be, when would they relieve the citizens of Georgetown from the oligarchy that exists within the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown, formerly known as the “Fantastic Four” and now known as the “Terrific Trio”.
The level of venality, duplicity and mismanagement there is simply unbelievable and it just keeps getting worse and worse. If there is an entity in the country that needs a commission of enquiry it is the Georgetown municipality. Could you imagine an entity receiving and spending billions of dollars each year and not being audited?
It is complete anarchy at City Hall, where senior officials ‘buse out’ the minister who is responsible for the Council, and ignore court rulings and the wishes of the government. It is a serious affair when officers undertake major activities without the Council’s knowledge or fiat.
And we cannot forget the numerous hair-raising scandals that have occurred over the last two and a half years at City Hall, from the parking meters ignominy , to the stun gun fiasco, to the attempted cover up of the rape of a juvenile, to a firearm going missing, to inappropriate sexual conduct by a senior official in the Engineer’s Department, to the granting of permission to a vendor to build a two- storey structure without Council’s knowledge or permission, something that will change the aesthetics of the Stabroek Market without consultation with the National Trust, to the building of model homes on the city’s reserves.
Can citizens be told what tangible benefits were derived as a result of all of those many luxury trips abroad? Can citizens be told why the City Police Training School was allowed to go to rack and ruin, even though it was totally rehabilitated during the term of the last Council? Can citizens be told when the Stabroek Market clock will work again, having received foreign funding a long time ago and when will works will begin on the restoration of City Hall?
Just look at the Stabroek Market wharf that collapsed years ago and instead of fixing it, they hang some lights at the front for window dressing. Council has an administration that refuses to recognise or to engage the vendors’ union, who farms out a part of the Farnum Playfield in Subryanville to a private individual and attempts to sell the Bel Air Park Playfield to a private developer — all against the covenants associated with these properties. The greed in this attempt is palpable, as at least one of these individuals owns multiple homes and is attempting to grab more.
Regards
Mark Roopan