Dear Editor,
The government of Guyana led by President Jagdeo has done it again. The government has bailed out the cash strapped city councils by giving it over one hundred million dollars to get the city council back on its feet to pay its workers and continue garbage collections.
It has become the norm of the government to give the city council money whenever the council finds itself cash strapped. The mayor would blame the government for not increasing its revenue base. The government would play its own tune “you must manage your finances properly,” and it would then release funds to the council.
How long can the citizens of Georgetown continue to facilitate an incompetent city council whose terms had ended about ten years ago. The government continues to play a cat and mouse game with the council, stubbornly refusing to dismantle it and replace it with an interim management committee until local government elections are held. The government is waiting on the local government elections to see the council removed.
While the government waits on local government elections and continues to protect the council the citizens have to continue to put up with a garbage city, clogged drains, tall grass and bushes on parapets, blocked pavements, unsightly shacks on reserves and potholed streets, to name a few.
Only God knows why this government is refusing to get rid of the city council. The PPP, while in opposition, was continuously calling Georgetown a garbage city. Now it is the same under this government.
Yours faithfully,
Baldeo Persaud