…Mayor blames it on govt’s reluctance to engage
…frowns on paltry $2M allocation to fight Covid-19
Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine has called out the Government for its failure to consult the Mayor and City Council on the 2021 Budget and its reluctance to work collaboratively while the city is gradually turning into a dumpsite.
In a live Facebook post, the Mayor spoke about these matters after he reportedly received criticism online from a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/) representative that garbage was being dumped at the Le Repentir cemetery.
Narine said that the City Council had called upon the ministries of Public Works and Local Government to have consultation prior to giving out contracts to clean the City but no consultation was facilitated.
He also disclosed that Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall had promised the City Council $100 million to assist with garbage contractors for the end of 2020 but this was never fulfilled.
“The dumping started with the Ministry of Public Works not the Mayor and City Council. That cemetery road was very clear and clean. Since the PPP took office it started happening again, the city is like a dumpsite. Central government did not come to our rescue,” the Mayor stated, adding:
“The 2021 Budget read recently in Parliament, the City wasn’t consulted on a way forward of how we intend to develop the city, what measures and systems we need to fix.”
He recalled that in 2019 and 2020, under the APNU+AFC Administration, M&CC received garbage trucks but since the PPP/C took office in late 2020 to present M&CC has not received “a dime”.
Narine said that the Council was also told that it would receive $10M in the 2020 Budget and was then asked what it would do with it. This information, he said, was provided but he is yet to receive feedback on it from the Government.
While the Mayor said that he understands that he supports the APNU+AFC and therefore he shares differing political views with the current Government, he said that this is no excuse to exclude the M&CC to the detriment of the people of Georgetown.
Narine said that he has heard President Ifraan Ali speak about “one Guyana” where leaders put aside their differences and work towards the development of the nation, but he is yet to see these words in action from the current Administration.
“I, the Mayor, asked to reach His Excellency since he took Office three times and the meeting was planned and I come to the Office those three sessions and by 8/8:30 a call come from the Office of the President, the meeting cancelled…we do not have a nation, we have a country that’s divided,” he said.
Meanwhile, as consultation is at its lowest, the Mayor said that areas across the City such as Robb and Regent Streets, where numerous businesses operate, are now “filled with garbage”.
However, affecting the Council’s ability to efficiently address the garbage problem is the large debt it faces. He recommended the development of a holistic plan to deal with Guyana’s garbage issue but pointed out that this will never be possible if central government refuses to cooperate with the M&CC.
Narine said: “If Government pays us our taxes we will do much more. If Government calls upon the people of the City –their friends and cronies – to pay their taxes we can do better. If we have a revaluation for the City and other Municipalities and NDCs, we can do better…you cannot expect to get a service and don’t pay the right money.”
Apart from the matter of garbage disposal and management, the Georgetown Mayor also called out the Government for supplying only $2M for the M&CC to fight COVID-19.
Narine said that the sum is far too small to have a worthwhile impact in Georgetown – Guyana’s capital and its most densely populated area.
