MAYOR of Georgetown Patricia Chase-Green has denied allegations that her son is one of the private garbage collectors contracted by the Mayor and City Council, urging those who have been spreading such a rumour to desist and even threatened legal action.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that Chase-Green’s son is allegedly the owner of one of the garbage companies registered in Georgetown, but under the name of a close friend of her son. “I wanted to make a big issue of this thing, but when I checked the registration, I realised it is in the name of her son’s close friend,” the source informed the Chronicle.
Another source who prefers anonymity told this publication that this is not the first time he is hearing of this allegation; and that this has been a rumour for quite some time now.

However, when asked about the issue, Chase-Green responded that her son at reference does not have a business and that she does not know the smaller contractors who were hired, other than when she saw them around the horse-shoe table. In the same interview however, Chase-Green confessed that she was “friends” with those smaller contractors.
“I am friends with everybody. I have friends all over the place. Cevons is my friend; Puran’s is my friend; all the other small contractors are my friends. So what happened if I talk to someone? And whosoever is giving you the information should read 28:01 (The Municipal Councils and District Act). And they gotta stop it, or I will carry Chronicle to court, y’all trust me.”
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle and Stabroek News reporters following last Monday’s statutory meeting, Chase-Green said about the allegation: “Let them bring the evidence, I’m fed up of them. I don’t know about that; I’m not aware of that. And if Chronicle got that information, let them deal with it. I am not aware; it is not true. My son’s business? My son don’t have any business. And even if he had a business, the law provided for that. He doesn’t have a business. And whoever is spreading that should say what business they have and what interest they have in it. I don’t know the small contractors, other than when they sat around this horse-shoe table. If anyone of them is a friend of my son, am I to blame for that? What nonsense!”

The M&CC recently opted to hire five smaller contractors to continue garbage collection in Georgetown after the main contractors withdrew their services. Acting Town Clerk Sharon Harry had told the media that the contractors have expressed a willingness to work, notwithstanding the financial constraints plaguing the municipality. Harry had said that the new contractors hired are Granderson, C&S, Trash Tech, Tri Star and Garbage Eaters.
Councillor Andrea Marks questioned why the same money being used to pay new contractors could not be used to pay the two main contractors. “It’s very unfair,” she said. “I have a serious problem with taking money to pay fresh contractors, when you can use the same money to pay the old contractors.”

Marks was very upset that around 200 youths who were hired by Cevons Waste Management had to be laid off, especially at this time of year, because the company cannot afford to continue paying them.

The two main contractors – Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons Waste Management Inc. – have said it is not a case where they wanted to stop working, but that they simply did not have the money to buy fuel and take care of other costs associated with continuing to work.

The contractors had in the past agreed to move the credit facility in the contracts from 21 days to 90 days to allow the City Council more time to pay. However, City Hall has not paid a cent to the contractors since last June, and now wants to move ahead with the smaller contractors only.