Dear Editor,
As a member of the public who attended several of the sessions conducted by the Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown, I had difficulty recognising the roseate picture projected by Mr Royston King of the interactions with M&CC staff, in SN of March 16 (‘Commission of Inquiry has helped City Hall’).
From this perspective theirs was a consistently unimpressive performance, with the possible exception of the Public Health Department. But then health has generic functions which must be discharged by specifically trained personnel.
Generally, however, one was hardly overwhelmed by the level of competency displayed. Firstly, on every count there was clear evidence of poor database management in all departments, compounded by the admitted malfunctioning of the IT Department, in turn aided and abetted by an ineffectual Personnel Department.
The evidence also admitted of a very defective accounting system, and weak finance managers/officers. The tax system was blatantly unreliable. Derelict markets could be seen as a substantial health hazard, while the Engineer’s Department, like its counterparts, was continually defensive about its ineptitude. The abbattoir needs serious evaluation from a health standpoint.
Any indication of the overall exercise being a learning experience for any of the M&CC officials is purely delusionary. So that talk of information sharing, strategising, cross-fertilisation, etc, can only be but an adventure in self-deception. However, whichever of the two perspectives is more realistic will expectedly be reflected in the Commissioner’s report.
Incidentally, it is true that the M&CC is a complex organisation – but only in the minds of the befuddled.
Yours faithfully,
Carl Abrahams
