– cites lack of accountability main factor for failures
– major changes in management, governance structure recommended
The ‘Burrowes Commission of Inquiry’ report is complete and the Minister of Local Government has been fully briefed on the findings and recommendations of the Commission.

The Chronicle has been reliably informed that the Minister has taken some time to peruse the Report and “digest” its content before briefing the media at a formal press conference to be convened shortly with the Commissioner Mr. Keith Burrowes.

Several efforts to solicit a comment from Mr. Burrowes on the findings and recommendations of the report proved futile.

However, according to a reliable source, the findings of the Report reveal that only major changes in the management and governance structure would facilitate the success of the recommended strategies for efficiently and effectively operationalising the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

It is the fear of the Commission that the environment in which the current management operates would seriously impede the work of the recently-appointed engineer (for instance), and any other personnel employed to optimize the operational capabilities and capacity of the municipality, the source said.

Chronicle has also been reliably informed that, based on sentiments expressed and positions discussed and articulated at the public hearings/consultations, and from findings from internal investigations, the Commission is recommending the URGENT need for Local Government Elections to be held as speedily as possible, as it is hoped that this will effect immediate and necessary changes to the human resource base of the M&CC.

This newspaper was also told that the recommendations of the much-anticipated Report stress on the primary factor of enhanced accountability and for ensuring that the platform is set for the establishment of a framework that would provide greater oversight of the overall operations of the M&CC.

A source close to the investigation revealed that the M&CC is being run like the “Wild West,” and that nobody is currently being held accountable for any sphere of the M&CC operations.

He said that there are clear indications that the Report will have key recommendations for the operations of the Council to be measured by the public, because the Council, as it is currently run, seems to be “a law unto itself.”

According to Chronicle’s sources, Mr. Burrowes is quite openly in favour of a mechanism that will allow for and enable greater oversight of the Council’s operations, such as a credible body comprising responsible and civic-minded members of the public.

He seems to favour a model that includes management, the Council, and stakeholders in a tripartite arrangement – not an Interim Management Committee with responsibility and authority for operational activities, but a body that would ensure that the requisite standards are being met and maintained by the M&CC, and that will validate and endorse the Council’s positions on matters relating to their operational mandate.

The Chronicle has learned that the Commissioner visited several areas of concern, among which were the cemetery and some of the markets, and that he was extremely shocked and distressed at the jungle-like conditions of the cemetery, which in addition to being in a state of overgrowth is being encroached upon by the Mandela Dump Site; and the very insanitary and rapidly-deteriorating conditions obtaining at the markets.

It is very likely that these are some of the key issues, as well as the concern that officers are not delivering services in a timely and efficient manner, that Mr. Burrowes has recommended be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Squatting, gargantuan garbage pile-ups, and illegal vending and their myriad implications to sanitation and other factors deleterious to a properly functioning society is also a prime concern that Mr. Burrowes has spoken about on several occasions.

Competency in revenue-collection and record-keeping is another area that Mr. Burrowes has openly expressed concern about, as well as the encroachment of the Mandela dumpsite on the cemetery, and the latter’s conditions that lend itself to providing a sanctuary to thieves who prey on the unwary.

Sources claim that Mr. Burrowes has performed creditably in delivering a Report on the operations of the M&CC within this relatively short timeframe, because investigating the Council was like cleaning the Augean stables and Mr. Burrowes has to be commended for this Herculean endeavour.

The Report of the Burrowes Commission, according to our sources, is “extremely comprehensive” and deals with many issues, all aimed at improving the operations of the city entity and the services provided to citizens.

In previous interactions with the media, Mr. Burrowes had said that the inquiry process could not be “time-bound”, but was one that could lead to a positive change in the operation in the municipality in order to deliver a proper service to city residents.

According to Mr. Burrowes, the exercise has been a very time-consuming and stressful one, but would be well worth the effort if the recommendations are implemented in a timely and efficient manner, because the positive impacts would restore Georgetown to its once-pristine and beautiful conditions instead of its current image of a city in which garbage and lawlessness proliferate.