Dear Sir,
THE senior officers and general administrative staff of the Mayor and City Council express utter disgust with the emotionally charged statements of Councillor Ayodele Roache, at the statutory meeting of Monday, February 12, 2019, in which she referred to the work of council’s Public Relations Division as “trash.”  The councillor was cautioned and subsequently withdrew the comments from the records of the council. However, the fact remains that the spoken words are ephemeral and can never be recalled. Therefore, it is imperative that this matter be addressed publicly at this juncture, so that greater caution would be exercised in the future.

It has been observed that it is the practice of this councillor to make hasty remarks about the work of council of which she is a part. At a previous meeting, the councillors had boldly declared that the Georgetown City Council does not have a social media presence; at that meeting she was corrected by officers of the council.

The councillors are policy-makers and they have the duty to bring to the horseshoe table their knowledge, expertise and skill to inform policy decisions. However, sentiments such as these would only harm the image of the council which we are working tirelessly to rebuild. The city administration welcomes constructive criticism, since constructive criticism would help us to understand where we are and the direction we ought to take.

The work of the Public Relations Division of the City Council is consistent with the organisational goals and objectives, in addition to the use of public relations tools such as regular press conferences, press releases, media tours, the production of  pamphlets, flyers, brochures facebook pages and special radio and television programmes. The division collaborates with other departments of council to plan and execute strategic programmes that cater to the communication and information needs of the various publics. Moreover, the work of the Public Relations Division is guided by its communications strategy 2017 -2019.

The dynamics of this complex organisation with different departments and sections necessitate that the council gauge public opinion and this is done through analysis and research. Analysis helps us to identify problems and clarify matters which would enhance our services. Further, research is a prerequisite for making decisions pertaining to policies.  Research helps to inform policy recommendations and programme-planning. The most recent research conducted by the division in October 2018, gauged public opinion on the payment of a fee for the collection of waste from households. The research findings were presented to council via the monthly report. Mr. Editor, could Research and Analysis be classified as “trash,” as purported by the learned councillor?.

The Public Relations Division through timely interventions of the officers attached to the complaints desk averted many conflicting situations in local communities. The complaints desk provides citizens opportunities to present their cases to the public relations officer, who contacts the relevant department heads to have the issues resolved.  The process involves site visits to problematic areas by the officers, the public relations officer and the complainants. In some instances, the problems are resolved instantly, while in others it necessitates the acquisition of resources and this delays the process. Many citizens have thanked the division both privately and publicly for its timely intervention and amicable resolution of many problems. Is the councillor referring to public relations intervention in this regard as “trash?”

At council, we embrace the Municipal Act, Chapter 28:01, Section 301(10). This section of the act is operationalised through several programmes, including special health and environmental education programmes in city schools.

In 2018, the programme reached approximately 5,000 (five thousand) children at the primary level. This was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, The Public Health and Solid Waste Management Departments.  Also, because of the success of this programme, the “I believe clubs” were birthed. The focus of these clubs is to produce students who would be in the vanguard where environmental matters are concerned. Further, they would be the ones to influence change among their peers, families and the wider community on good environmental stewardship. While we believe in enforcing the city by-laws, we embrace the need for information and education.  We work assiduously within the confines of our limited resources to implement programmes and to achieve our set goals and objectives. Many of our stakeholders are aware that due to our financial constraints our planned projects are curtailed.

In the division, we have reviewed our performance for 2018 and crafted a strategic communication plan which embodies the focus of the organisation for 2019; this includes public health, solid waste management and maintenance of drainage systems. The plan will measure the impact of programmes executed.

It is regrettable that the honourable councillor never sought to engage any one from the city’s administration to have certain things clarified before making a public pronouncement. If the councillor had taken the time to interact with someone from the division, she would not have openly made such a colossal error, stating that council has only a facebook profile. The council has both a page and a profile.  Council’s facebook page is Georgetown Mayor and City.   Mr. Editor, the word “trash” has taken on a whole new meaning for us at council.

Debra Lewis
Public Relations Officer