–between 2020 and 2022 from central gov’t, Dr. Singh says
THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) government has spent over $10 billion on infrastructure and other works in the capital city, Georgetown, between 2020 and 2022, including $6 billion on the construction and rehabilitation of roads.
Contrary to those efforts, the Mayor and City Council which is responsible for the City, as of 2023, owes the Guyana Power and Light Inc. $3.2 billion, owes the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) $1.7 billion in taxes for the period 2016 to 2023, representing outstanding PAYE which was deducted from employees but never remitted to the GRA, and also owes the National Insurance Scheme a further $387 million owed in employee contributions as at end of April 2023, jeopardising workers’ benefits.
This was according to Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, who outlined myriad spending that central government has done in Georgetown.
He highlighted the PPP/C government’s efforts in response to a previous letter by Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine about the government owing City Hall.
According to Dr. Singh, for the period 2020 to 2022, central government spent $155 million to reconstruct and rehabilitate bridges, $1 billion to enhance the Old Railway Embankment, $1.6 billion on enhancement works along the Independence Boulevard, Cemetery Road, and internal roads in Albouystown, Georgetown. Another $250 million was spent on enhancement works along the Kingston Seawall.
Between 2021 and 2022, government spent $678 million to operate and maintain the main drainage system in the municipality, $600 million to upgrade the water transmission lines in Georgetown, $510 million on Solid Waste Management that benefitted the citizens of Georgetown, and has committed $779 million to the current restoration of the iconic City Hall building.
“The lack of accountability by M&CC necessitated these interventions be undertaken directly by Central Government, as it was clear that resources for these developments would have otherwise been squandered and mismanaged by the Mayor and his team,” Dr. Singh related.
He also rejected a claim by Narine that he wrote the Auditor General (AG) annual requesting annual audits. Dr. Singh pointed to excerpts from the annual Audit Report concerning City Hall
“The Auditor General would have informed the Town Clerk (ag.) of the status of the audits. The 2021 Auditor General’s (AG) report, on page 95, states that the last time financial statements were audited for the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown was in 2004. The Auditor General also highlighted that he has not received financial statements for a number of years, including 2020 and 2021,” Dr. Singh said.
In addition, the Special Audit Report of the Auditor General for the years 2019 and 2020, sent on 28 April 2022 to Ms. Candace Nelson -Town Clerk (ag), states: “Financial statements were submitted for the year 2018 and 2019. However, they were subsequently returned to M&CC on 27 August 2021 for non-compliance with International Accounting Standards.”
“It must be noted that these periods directly relate to Ubraj Narine’s tenure as Mayor. How can one reasonably expect the Auditor General to perform his duties if the M&CC fails to supply the information necessary to carry out the audit?” Dr. Singh asked.
He said that the Mayor is attempting to mislead the people of Guyana through deliberate misrepresentation of facts pertaining to the management and accountability of the Georgetown MCC.
“In his letter to the press, the Mayor made the outlandish claim that central government has provided paltry sums of money to maintain the capital city. This is farthest from the truth. In fact, the PPP/C government has provided significant support to the citizens of Georgetown,” Dr. Singh said.
He also chastised Narine for his call for a valuation to be done to increase rates and taxes, at a time when Narine’s party, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has accused the PPP/C of wanting to raise taxes.
“This is the nature of APNU/AFC, to repeatedly claim that they will cut taxes when, to the contrary, as has been demonstrated in their previous term in office, they instead did the opposite and imposed over 200 taxes and fees, including taxes on electricity, water, medical supplies, education services, and construction materials and equipment.
“We should not be surprised at the dishonesty of Ubraj Narine and the APNU/AFC, who have demonstrated their blatant disregard for the principles of transparency and accountability, pillars upon which democratic governance in modern societies are based,” Dr. Singh said.
