Keith Burrowes says he is considering stepping down as Head of the Implementation Committee for the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) Commission of Inquiry recommendations, citing continued difficulties in the implementation of the recommendations he had made as Commissioner and the welter of financial irregularities there.
Burrowes when contacted confirmed what this newspaper had been informed about his considering stepping down.
When asked about his decision, Burrowes said he continues to be pained by the almost daily reports of malfeasance in the Council that he had undertaken to turn around through the work of the Commission of Inquiry and Implementation Committee. That committee continues to function as revelations are made into the various activities of sections of the Council and its operations. He said that the outcome of the current fraud and financial irregularities that the Council is now engaged with will likely be the impetus for whether he leaves or stays.
Through the Commission, the Council was provided with a suite of modern software to revamp its accounting and recordkeeping systems with the aim of streamlining operations.
Ramon Gaskin has been working under Burrowes to fast-track the implementation of the various recommendations and it was during this phase of the work that a number of irregularities were uncovered.
The Commission of Inquiry had made several recommendations – some of which are still to be implemented – with a view to making the work of the Council more accountable and competitive. The Commission had also identified a number of services that the Council offered and categorised them as core and non-core with the aim of differentiating those services that the Council provided for which an income was derived as against those that the Council provided with little or no financial return.
