Dear Editor,
As part of the larger community improvement programme in Georgetown and other municipalities, I have joined many others in noting the enormous, concerted efforts over the years by government agencies, NGOs, diplomatic community groups, private citizens and, more recently, a clean-up campaign orchestrated by an “implementation committee” headed by Mr Keith Burrowes.
These initiatives undoubtedly have been helpful, especially when they have benevolently complimented the work of city authorities regarding mutual objectives. However, no volume or level of ‘campaigns’ or public relations exercises are going to reverse permanently the woes persistently plaguing the capital city and the other municipalities across the country. What recurs with stubborn realism is an immense problem comprising two dimensions – institutional and political – that must be addressed with much more focus and energy than what have been exercised.
The institutional issues arise, in part, because of the Guyana Elections Commission’s inability to carry out local government elections since 1994. This, unfortunately, has become a perpetuating situation where we have had the same incapable and inept management team for 18 years running (and I’m hard pressed to find a comparable situation that offers a meaningful parallel). We’ve been caught in a rut of inefficiency within the municipalities because of the absence of local government elections.
Moreover, in terms of ideal functioning systems, effective institutions would raise the value of the benefits of cooperation, implementation and execution while also raising the costs of defection and non-performance to levels high enough that would discourage dysfunctional or non-productive behaviour. However, in Georgetown, for example, what we have instead is a situation where the Mayor and City Councillors have perpetuated an ineffective institution at best where the costs of non-performance and inaction are so minimal that the risks are insufficiently strong enough to discourage non-performance or negligent behaviour. Furthermore, the Mayor and the City Council as an institution lacks the proper structure to prosecute and penalize errant citizens and businesses that fail to pay their property taxes as well as those who litter indiscriminately or commit other infractions to the detriment of their communities.
Finally, with regard to political terms, there is little will or conviction on behalf of our elected policymakers – regardless of their partisan bearings – to address this persistent situation. The public citizenry would benefit from courageous policymakers who ensure local government elections are held as mandated. Likewise, they would be motivated to examine how to overhaul and reform the operations and structure of the municipal government for effective widespread impact.
Citizens routinely see and hear the headlines for messages of reform during every electoral cycle that each and every political party proclaims. Unfortunately, after the dust has settled nothing is done to advance the serious cause of reform that should begin with fair, equitable local government elections.
I hope that others will join me in emphatically calling out to our policymakers to ensure that local government elections are held without undue delay.
Yours faithfully,
Clinton Urling
President Georgetown
Chamber of Commerce & Industry