-Mayor says money will be used to further transform town

MAYOR of Bartica, Gifford Marshall has reiterated an earlier call he made for the town of Bartica to benefit from a small percentage of the royalties that quarry owners pay to the government.

Speaking recently on the Guyana Chronicle’s `Vantage Point’, Marshall pointed out that not many persons are aware that the stone used to construct sea-defences and build schools and roads countrywide is provided by three quarries which are located in the Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) district.

Those quarries, he said, are mandated to, and pay a hefty sum of money in royalties to central government, with the monies being used to support the government in paying salaries and take care of other projects countrywide.

Marshall reasoned that while the Bartica township receives a subvention from central government, it should be able to tap into a fraction of the resources paid by the quarries, the money will go a long way towards the true capital town it aims to be, by being able to carry out its own road maintenance, build its own bridges and buying its own street lights.
His view of independence means, “finding your own initiative is very, very important, we believe that in the next two to three years, the municipality of Bartica should be in a position to set a budget and find at least 75 per cent of that budget.”

The Bartica Mayor said what currently obtains is that the municipality have to put a budget together, identify a project, then approach the Ministry of Communities or the Ministry of Public Infrastructure for funding. “We want, in the next couple of years, to be able to take care of 75 per cent of our needs, that is where we are aiming and (we) believe we will get there once (we) have the support from central government,” he added.
To this end, Marshall said he has had discussions at the level of the Ministry of Communities and will soon hold dialogue with the Ministry of Natural Resources, with the hope that they will be given the green light, in order that they can fast-track the development of the town.

Responding to a query as to the percentage, Marshall emphasised that it is… “just a fraction”… adding “we can’t take 50 or 25 per cent because the resources they pay support the national economy; we (the township) are just a few square miles and we could start with a fraction.”

Mayor Marshall reminded that Bartica has been transforming through the “go green” approach, as a result of a green mandate concept that was thrown out by President David Granger. Noting that it is a tall order he, however, said it is the responsibility of the municipality to embark on a sensitisation effort in order to assist residents to understand the vision and direction in which the township is heading.