VICE President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has committed to the residents of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, that the government will work with them to improve their community given its current state which is largely due to the neglect of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)-led Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
The Vice President, during a community outreach last Tuesday, highlighted the deplorable state of Sophia and other communities that are under the control of the APNU-led M&CC.

While underscoring that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has a clear plan to fully develop the country, Jagdeo noted that residents also have to step up to the task.
The Vice President took note of the canal between Cummings Lodge and the University of Guyana that is swamped with vegetation. “We can’t rely on the city council for anything…” he said.
Although the PPP/C now has 11 councillors on the M&CC, the capital city is still controlled by APNU.

“…APNU has controlled the city forever from independence to now, they run the city…When you run the city, you’re supposed to fix roads, collect the garbage, deal with the drainage [and] you have to manage the market. That’s your responsibility,” Dr Jagdeo said.
However, City Hall has placed their responsibilities on the shoulders of central government.

“We have taken over; we built a garbage dump site for nearly $15 million for the City Council. We are putting in new pumps, we’re building a pump at Liliendaal that would drain south Georgetown and places like Sophia, doubling the pumping capacity in the rainy season,” he noted.
“We’re now fixing all the roads, we put in stoplights, we are fixing the recreational [facilities]. They [APNU-led M&CC] only collect taxes and spend the taxes; they don’t even collect the garbage now. So we can’t rely on this city council,” Dr Jagdeo added.

“…I want a project to start. I see heaps of garbage, heaps of earth, everything else; if the community is going to look better, we have to keep it maintained and clean too. But we wouldn’t get the city council to work with us on that. So we might as well do it ourselves. But it depends also on the residents here; you have to also work with us to ensure that this happens. If the initial investment is made to clear the place, then you maintain it,” the Vice President told the residents.
Earlier this year, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, said that an analysis needs to be done on how to rebuild, restructure, and re-strategise the M&CC into an institution that caters for the needs of the people.

During an impromptu community outreach in Kitty, Georgetown, dozens of residents flocked to President Ali to inform him of the deplorable state of the area.
President Ali remarked: “One thing about good countries and democracy is that when people fail you, the institutions never fail you and we [need to] build our institutions in such a way that the institutions never fail.”

He added: “And that is what we have to look at, how do we ensure that the institution of the City Council is rebuilt, restructured and reorganised, re-strategised, realigned, to the needs of the people.”
Dr Ali also pointed to how engaged the PPP/C Councillors are with the citizens.
“I hope that they [APNU Councillors] take an example from the work that our councillors are doing and work the way they’re working,” the Head of State underscored.

He further said that he has expressed his views on the APNU-controlled City council countless times and it is now up to the people to decide.
“…When we went to the Local Government Elections, we explained the consequences of not having good leadership, so this is in the hands of people. Sometimes we have to stop speaking and let the work continue… I hope people are seeing…,” President Ali said while adding that he is hoping that Guyanese have opened their eyes and recognise the reality.