Dear Editor,
While much has been written about Georgetown, its environs, and the causes of its putrid state, there is one little aspect that I feel needs to be highlighted and brought to our collective attention. Virtually all the blame for the state of Georgetown rests squarely on the PPP/C administration. Indeed, the citizens of Georgetown have been disenfranchised from a better life, inclusive of better jobs, because of the perverse mentality of the PPP/C. Having been consistently rebuffed by its citizens, the PPP/C deliberately denied proper management to the city by not facilitating local government elections. It also pauperized the city council by not providing the needed financial support to ensure proper administration and maintenance of the city’s surroundings. The deliberateness of the PPP’s actions in degrading Georgetown’s economic prospects is exemplified by the fact that it denied the Mayor & City Council the right to introduce the current lottery system as a means of raising funds to finance its operations. Use of the lottery for this purpose was an idea of the city council itself, and was naturally a more appealing way to raise money, versus raising property taxes and implementing all kinds of punitive licence fees on Georgetown’s citizens. After denying the council the right to run a lottery, the government subsequently implemented the lottery itself, stymieing the council’s access to much needed finances. This is another example of the government misusing its authority to oppress Guyanese. In the twenty-plus years which have passed, Georgetown could have been developed into a beautiful modern city teeming with tourists and popular the world over. This, among other wonderful things, Guyana has forfeited under the current administration.
Yours faithfully,
Craig Sylvester
