…but still ‘very short’ in paying bills

THE Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is gearing up to host City Week from August 19 in celebration of the 175th anniversary of Georgetown, and is working with a $19M budget to fund all of the activities planned.

Town Clerk Royston King was keen to inform the City Council on Monday that “not a single cent” would be spent from the city treasury. Instead, the activities will be funded solely from donations and sponsorships.

Already, a significant amount of money has been received from ‘friends’ of the council and asked if the council was really in a position to host this initiative while having other pressing financial issues to deal with, King said it is time that a celebration of this sort be held.

During the statutory meeting, Councillor Bishram Kuppen had asked for an update on the status of outstanding payments to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the workers’ credit unions.

King responded that the council is still “very short” with regard to such remittances and he went on to list other entities for which the council still owes money. Among them, he mentioned Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) and the smaller contractors who worked for the council on credit, while the major garbage contractors had pulled their services.

The council is also doing all it can, King continued, to keep ‘bread’ on the table for its workers and is continuing to struggle each month just to meet the salaries bill.

To persons who feel the sponsorships and donations coming in can be diverted to cover other pressing needs, King told reporters: “You can always divert funds to more pressing issues. There will always be issues that are very pressing, but there are times when you have to stop and reflect where you are, where you came from and how you hope to move on.”

“We have been receiving good support so far from our business partners. We have received a substantial amount of money coming so far in the form of sponsorship from our friends in the private sector,” he added, concerning the hosting of City Week.

Meanwhile, King said City Week is to celebrate 175 years of the elevation of Georgetown from being a town to a city.

He said many of the events, such as the mayor’s dinner and cocktail are ticket events which are expected to bring in money to the council. City Hall’s restoration fund will be launched at the mayor’s dinner.

For the cultural extravaganza, he said the Ministry of Culture has indicated its willingness to participate. Municipal games are planned along with a ‘Seniors’ Treat’ and health fair. Mayor Patricia Chase-Green said she takes King’s word that no council money will be used because the council cannot afford it.

The objectives of City Week include fostering a closer relationship among employees through sports, cultural, and other forms of social entertainment; to provide an opportunity for the business community to showcase locally produced products; for the council to form alliances with other critical stakeholders; and to improve the council’s corporate image.
The council said it is hoping to brand City Week activities and promote it as a tourist attraction. Queen Victoria by letter patent, declared the colony a Bishop’s see on August 21, 1843. William Piercy was appointed bishop. This made the Parish Church of St. George’s a Cathedral and Georgetown thereby became a city.

At the time of independence on May 26, 1966, Georgetown ceased to be a British colony. Georgetown was 6.5 square kilometres.

On April 29, 1970, the boundaries of the city were extended, thus enlarging the city to 40 square kilometres.