Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday expressed the hope that the findings of the City Hall Inquiry Report when disclosed will be used to lift the management of the city to another level and not for political purposes.
During a press conference held yesterday at City Hall, Green said that he indeed had some concerns about the length of time that the report had taken to be completed but nevertheless expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Commissioner of the Inquiry Keith Burrowes, even as he raised concerns about the politicization of the inquiry.
According to the Mayor, while Burrowes may be “an honourable man”, he hopes that his work will not be compromised by any political agenda by those in authority. Green went on to state his displeasure about the manner in which the Guyana Chronicle had been reporting aspects of the inquiry as it related to City Hall. He said that the newspaper had been engaging in an unrelenting campaign to slander the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown. Burrowes is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana National Newspapers Ltd, which publishes the Guyana Chronicle. Green suggested that there may be a nexus between the position Burrowes holds and the stance that the newspaper has taken, an accusation that Burrowes strongly refuted yesterday in a telephone interview with this newspaper.
Burrowes emphasised that he had done the inquiry on a totally professional basis and that none of his other professional responsibilities affected how he conducted this inquiry. He also further stated that throughout the Inquiry, he has not had any political official or anyone else interfere with the process.
Meanwhile, the Mayor said that the reported fraud that had allegedly been “discovered” by the Commissioner had been exposed with assistance from him and other council members.
Burrowes, in response, said that he was surprised that the Mayor was trying to take credit for the discovery of the fraud, which had occurred since February 2008. He said that if Green had suspected the fraud, he should have addressed the problem.
According to Burrowes, the fraud is a symptom of bigger problems at City Hall and he stated that there may even be other frauds that were yet to be discovered. He said that instead of getting into political matters, the Mayor and the Council members would be better advised to focus on addressing the matters related to the effective functioning of the Council.
Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, meanwhile, stated that the completion of the report should be seen as the culmination of an effort made by City Hall to solve problems at the institution. According to Williams, it was the Municipality that approached the Minister of Local Government so that this inquiry could be conducted. He also pointed out that prior to this Inquiry City Hall had hired other consultants to conduct investigations into aspects of the affairs at the headquarters of the municipality.
He said that these efforts dated back to 1997. He said that over the years several recommendations made have been implemented.
Williams said that the City Council has already implemented some of the recommendations that would be identified in the report, especially issues related to the treasury department.
Commissioner of the Inquiry, Burrowes told members of the media on Monday that the report will be handed over to the Minister of Local Government Kellawan Lall on Friday. Burrowes said on Monday that he was prepared to release the report to the media if he had gotten permission from Lall.
He explained that the delay in handing over the report was primarily due to the fact that he had been dealing with a complex institution coupled with the fact that he wanted to ensure that the report would be comprehensive.
Burrowes disclosed that he was waiting on the report from the police on the suspected fraud estimated at over $3 million. He said that the findings of the police would enable him to make specific recommendations so as “to prevent any re-occurrence of a similar situation”. He, however, said that Friday is the deadline even if information from the police is not forthcoming.
