“A City controlled by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) or any of its offspring—even at the level of local government—will always be stymied. That would be the case despite the best efforts of the Central Government.”

This is the firm opinion held by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member, Sanjeev Datadin. During a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Datadin highlighted the continued uncertainty surrounding the participation of “PNCR, APNU, APNU+AFC or whatever they choose to call themselves tomorrow,” in the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE).

He said that it is of little consequence whether that party participates because, “speaking frankly, their supporters deserve much better than what is being given in their strongholds.”
Datadin noted the inability of PNCR/APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) to manage finances in keeping with the law.

In this regard, the prominent attorney pointed to the most recent report of the PAC, which states that the committee was concerned about the expenditure for the Georgetown Restoration Programme, valued at $300 million. For that programme, no documents were presented for verification.

Datadin described the Georgetown Restoration Programme as another sham. He said that it was a naked attempt to trick the people of Georgetown with grand plans of development. “What was the reality, they wasted money and cannot account for it.”

He continued: “If you look at the report, it says that the committee acknowledged ‘a systemic problem with payment vouchers at the M&CC (Mayor and City Council).’ I am not condescending here, but I want to stress the PAC’s use of the word ‘systemic’; it means that this problem prevails at M&CC as a whole. The problem was not considered by the PAC to be unique to the Georgetown Restoration Programme.”

Datadin recalled that there were some 167 instances where payment vouchers were cashed without the authorised officer’s certification and pointed as well to the 140 payment vouchers that did not have the City Treasurer’s approval.

The Member of Parliament (MP) pointed out that the M&CC also failed to submit documents required by the Audit Office, which is a violation of the law.
He said that voters ought to note that this issue was ventilated before the PAC since 2018 and recommendations were made. Yet still today, the problem with proper documentation prevails at City Hall.

In this regard, Datadin pointed to the most recent Auditor General’s Report, in which the Auditor General highlighted the Mayor and City Council’s continued inability to provide documentation.

Auditor General, Deodat Sharma said that back in November 2017, the APNU+AFC Cabinet gave its approval for a grant of $475.635 million to be disbursed to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council through the Ministry of Communities.

The money was disbursed, but the City Council has been unable to provide the necessary documents to prove how it spent the sum.

The Auditor General reported that his office was still unable to verify the completeness, accuracy and validity of amounts totaling $374.545 million.

Datadin said that PNC/R has proven a burden to the people of Georgetown, noting: “They cannot manage money, they cannot account properly for even that which was spent, the city is always dirty and due maintenance is hardly done. Whether they contest or not, it is time PNC/R’s grip on Georgetown be removed.”

He said that the people of Georgetown must now be vigilant; they must demand accountability.

“It is time we move away from electing people who make empty promises. Look at the Irfaan Ali led PPP/C and how many of the manifesto promises have already been delivered and we are only halfway into the presidential term,” Datadin said.