Dear Editor,
PLEASE permit me space in your letters column to extend, on behalf of the citizens of Georgetown, sincere congratulations to the Honourable Mayor, Pandit Ubraj Narine, for the leadership, decency and obligation to his job as Chief Citizen that he has shown, when he recently turned down an ‘all expenses paid’ visit to the People’s Republic of China, opting instead to send his deputy.

Such a decision would have been unheard of by his globetrotting predecessors and the ‘Fantastic Four’ who would probably think that he must have lost his mind to have refused such a junket.

The commitment shown by Mayor Narine to leading the effort up front and in person of restoring the presently ruinous but once pristine Garden City must be applauded by all, as not many persons at the Council would reject the opportunity of being pampered in first class in a transatlantic flight, of dining at fine Asian restaurants and being accommodated at five star oriental hotels, not to mention being provided with a hefty perdiem for which you don’t have to account for.

Surely, Mayor Narine must have reviewed what the benefits have been derived for Georgetown and the Georgetown Municipality for all the scores of travels to the farthest reaches of the world that were undertaken by his predecessors, the Fantastic Four and others, and realised that absolutely nothing has been obtained.

Jaunts to Panama and Mexico have resulted in nothing but a corrupt parking meter deal and the placement of a few reconditioned third-hand parking meters around the city. The City Constabulary, in spite of receiving international training in bike patrolling and more than thirty professional police bicycles and allied equipment donated, can hardly mount a squad of more than six persons to patrol at any given time.

The funding that was provided to repair the Stabroek Market clock had to be given back due to the incompetence of the administration. City Hall building is collapsing in spite of many foreign-funded studies, the failed composting project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Council’s failure to purchase a number of much-needed pieces of equipment to assist with drainage, road building, and refuse collection in spite of the present City Engineer touring several parts of the attending trade shows and exhibitions and identifying what was needed are all examples of the millions wasted by the Council on foreign travel.

It is clear that the Council does not have the capacity to make use of international offers and should, therefore, follow Mayor Narine’s lead by fixing things at home first which they can by sticking to the basics before going abroad and bedazzling their eyes with the wonders of the world.
Best regards
Deodarie Putulall