– about handing Sophia over to municipality

GEORGETOWN Mayor Patricia Chase-Green on Monday expressed concern over announcements made by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) lately that it is moving towards handing over the Sophia community to the municipality.
Chase-Green, in an invited comment, told the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines of Monday’s statutory meeting that the M&CC is concerned about the move, especially as the City Council is cash-strapped.

The CHPA told this publication recently that it wants to hand over Constituencies Five and Six (Cummings Lodge to Sophia) to the M&CC before the end of 2018.
Chase-Green noted that there are many homes in those areas that do not pay taxes to the council.

“But when they are handed over, it is now our responsibility to provide garbage collection, street lights, roads, water,” she said, adding:
“Whatever it is that council has that core responsibility for, we will have to provide.How do we get more money for the expenses?”
Presently, residents in those communities are paying privately for garbage collection,as much as $500 per barrel.

Chase-Green said she is looking forward to a meeting with the CHPA before the handing-over, so that all of the modalities can be worked out.
Chief Executive Officer of CHPA Lelon Saul has said, that the agency is presently going through the areas and doing an inventory of the roads etc, and that the infrastructure in Sophia is slated to be upgraded under a reformulated Inter-American Bank (IDB) loan.
Saul said, too, that quite a few of the roads, open spaces and recreational areas will be upgraded, and that even after handing over the communities, the CHPA will endeavour to ensure that the infrastructure is up to standard, and will continue to finance the upgrading.
Currently, the Sophia area is not benefitting from any of the services provided by the M&CC, and hence for years, basic amenities such as water and electricity could not be extended to residents of North Pattensen, North Sophia, and Block ‘R’ Extension among other communities.

The CHPA had ideally wanted to hand over the communities on December 17, 2017, but was unsuccessful in its attempt to do so.
Town Clerk Royston King had in the past made a call for the process to be expedited so that the community can benefit from vital municipal services.
“At the moment, it is out of the curtilage of the Council,” he’d said. “It’s a large community; it’s a valuable community, and we need to move ahead and have it brought under the careful watch and service of the M&CC.”
Mayor Chase-Green had supported King’s argument, saying that Sophia has three representatives on the Council, and hence some sort of assistance ought to be granted the community.

Both Chase-Green and King are now worried that the M&CC will not be able to assist the communities because of City Hall’s financial problems.