Even as it admits that it will not be able to pay workers on time for this month, City Hall owes millions of dollars in workers’ national insurance and income tax remittances, among its current debts.
At Monday’s statutory meeting City Treasurer Andrew Meredith said outstanding payments to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for pay as you earn (PAYE) remittances, amount to some $24 million and $35 million, respectively. “The M&CC currently experiences difficulty in meeting its staff salaries and wages bill for almost every month of the year,” Town Clerk Yonette Pluck-Cort explained at a press conference at City Hall yesterday. “In order to ensure that workers receive their net salaries, the practice has been—and which we are aware is not the correct thing to do— the payment of NIS and PAYE is usually paid later,” she added.
According to Meredith, a payment to NIS was made in April of this year. No other information was provided.
When asked how long this has been going on, no answer was forthcoming. Instead, Mayor Hamilton Green said, “Except for the fact that our statutory meetings are public this is a matter quite frankly we had hoped to not sweep under the carpet, but to hold in suspended animation until we are financially able to correct the situation.”
Green called the lack of worker’s NIS and PAYE payments “a serious matter” but said the other side of the coin had to be looked at too. “While the administration has attempted to even break the law to satisfy the concerns of workers, the General Secretary of the GLU, in a letter, [said] that the council deliberately, his words not mine, pays workers late….”
As to how workers feel about their money not being paid to the entities, Green said, “I don’t think the workers are in agreement. In fact, I think it is a concern. The question is do you pay part or none at all?” He reasoned that at least the workers have the money to purchase the necessary items they needed for their children to go to school and other necessities.
“Serious decisions need to be made because it seems to me we will be unlikely to prevail upon the powers that be what their IMC said should be done and that is to broaden the revenue base,” Green added.
Apart from NIS and PAYE, the M&CC also owes the Guyana Power and Light Company some $28 million and the GRA another $32 million. City Hall has a staff of 830 and its monthly wage bill is $77 million. As a result, it has been urged to seriously consider staff cuts.
Meanwhile, contracted garbage collectors are likely to again not be paid by the municipality for collection. Yesterday, it was revealed that no other payments were made by the Local Government Ministry. In August, Minister Kellawan Lall had announced that government would pay outstanding rates and taxes owed to the municipality on the condition that the money is used to pay the contracted collectors on a monthly basis, after they went on strike for a month and a half.
On August 14, government released $40 million to the council. To date no other monies have been released. According to Green, the government still owes some $92 million in taxes due and payable along with other public and private sector entities. Green believes that the payment of taxes, especially by the government, will significantly ease the financial constrictions of the municipality.
However, he pointed out that what is really needed is a broadening of the revenue base. He has said proposals in this regard have been repeatedly turned down.
Also present at yesterday’s press conference were President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Komal Ramnauth and Executive Director of the Private Sector Commission Roubinder Rambarran. Ramnauth said the GCCI would soon be engaging the council on issues and concerns affecting its proper functioning. It is hoped that these engagements would be fruitful and lead to negotiations with the government to have them pay their outstanding taxes. “We will continue to work with the city council because, at the end of the day, we the citizens of Georgetown, we the business people of Georgetown, are being affected,” said Ramnauth. Rambarran, meanwhile, urged all stakeholders to be professional with their work and to ensure that they use all resources at their disposal efficiently and deliver their services effectively to the citizens and businesses of Georgetown.
“The city reflects the standard of all Guyanese and at present it doesn’t really reflect our true standard. We, as Guyanese, concerned citizens and, more so citizens of Georgetown, should demand that the environment reflect our true standard. I urge everyone to put politics behind and put Georgetown first,” he emphasised.
