Dear Editor,
We, at the Mayor and Councillors of Georgetown, continue to express disgust at the way in which the government-appointed acting Town Clerk, Ms Carol Ryan Sooba has been flouting our decisions. This is inhibiting the ability of council to provide crucial municipal services to the citizens, including the collection and disposal of garbage. The noticeably embarrassing underperformance of the administration in this area of council’s responsibility has triggered a notice of prohibition from the EPA to Ms Sooba.
Notwithstanding that, she continues to ignore the decision of the council to advertise for tenders for garbage collection services for groups 7 (West Ruimveldt, East Ruimveldt, Castello Housing Scheme, Independence Boulevard, West La Penitence, Jeeboo Land, North East La Penitence, East La Penitence (Freemans Street), Lamaha Springs and Lamaha), and 8 (Alberttown, Kingston, North Cummingsburg, South Cummingsburg, Queenstown).
As a result, there are accumulations of garbage in almost every section of the City of Georgetown.
The smell of rotting garbage is pungent at the Stabroek Market, and contiguous areas. This is particularly worrying because that facility is used for the sale of fruits, vegetables and other foods for human consumption. Our Public Health Department has raised concerns about this state of affairs. Yet there has been no movement by the administration to implement the decision of council to advertise for garbage collection services.
As citizens may know, Council has a two-tier management structure—the elected council (Mayor and Councillors, the policy and decision-makers) and the administration (officers who are obliged to implement those decisions). If the latter fails to do its work then the elected council could appear ineffective as is the case Dear Editor,
We, at the Mayor and Councillors of Georgetown, continue to express disgust at the way in which the government-appointed acting Town Clerk, Ms Carol Ryan Sooba has been flouting our decisions. This is inhibiting the ability of council to provide crucial municipal services to the citizens, including the collection and disposal of garbage. The noticeably embarrassing underperformance of the administration in this area of council’s responsibility has triggered a notice of prohibition from the EPA to Ms Sooba.
Notwithstanding that, she continues to ignore the decision of the council to advertise for tenders for garbage collection services for groups 7 (West Ruimveldt, East Ruimveldt, Castello Housing Scheme, Independence Boulevard, West La Penitence, Jeeboo Land, North East La Penitence, East La Penitence (Freemans Street), Lamaha Springs and Lamaha), and 8 (Alberttown, Kingston, North Cummingsburg, South Cummingsburg, Queenstown).
As a result, there are accumulations of garbage in almost every section of the City of Georgetown.
The smell of rotting garbage is pungent at the Stabroek Market, and contiguous areas. This is particularly worrying because that facility is used for the sale of fruits, vegetables and other foods for human consumption. Our Public Health Department has raised concerns about this state of affairs. Yet there has been no movement by the administration to implement the decision of council to advertise for garbage collection services.
As citizens may know, Council has a two-tier management structure—the elected council (Mayor and Councillors, the policy and decision-makers) and the administration (officers who are obliged to implement those decisions). If the latter fails to do its work then the elected council could appear ineffective as is the case with the incumbent council.
This is the challenge we face with advertising for tenders for groups 7 and 8.
Council at its statutory meeting in late November 2013, instructed the Town Clerk acting to engage garbage collection contractors with a view to address the numerous piles of garbage in different sections. At that time, council was worried about the increasing amounts of waste in the city and the negative public health spin-offs.
However, no tenders were advertised for garbage collection services. This created a serious problem particularly with market waste.
Understanding the municipality’s limitations and the general situation, council again, on February 2, 2014, instructed that groups 7 and 8 be tendered out for garbage contractual service to bring relief to residents in local communities, who were forced to negotiate piles of rubbish on parapets and roadsides in their attempt to get about their daily chores; it was not done.
Having examined the facts and convinced that it was the right thing to do, council again, on March 10, 2014, instructed that tenders be advertised for groups 7 and 8; it was not done. This instruction was repeated several times after those statutory meetings at Public Health and Market Committee and other meetings. The only response to that instruction was a blunt refusal by Ms Sooba to implement this decision.
According to an August 11, 2014, minute, “The Mayor asked the director of Solid Waste to report to the Council the position of the garbage collection and disposal in the city and whether the extraordinary activities has had a negative or positive effect.
“The director of Solid Waste said as at March 05 2014 he did not have any working compactor trucks and that was reported. He said Puran Brothers had submitted quotations for groups 8 and Cevon’s Waste Management, Puran Brothers was selected and has a contract and they have been clearing. He said his officers are monitoring the works and at present there are no trucks in the Solid Waste Department because it is in the workshop.
“Deputy Mayor said it was the first time that [she] was hearing that Puran Brothers has a contract for group 8, while all along since 2013 they were being told that when council trucks are not working Puran Bros would do voluntary work and remove the garbage. She said she did not know by what means that contract was awarded, if it was by quotation and who determined to take a decision of the finance committee. Not the finance Chairman to deliberate and look at those quotations to determine.” (Minutes of Statutory Meeting August 11, 2014, page 11)
Again on August 18, 2014, at a Statutory Meeting: “The Mayor enquired on the status of group 7 and 8 which the Director of Solid Waste responded that Puran Brothers were currently clearing both areas.
“The Deputy Mayor enquired by what method [this] was being done as the Council has made a decision for both areas to be tendered out and no officer could overrule the decision of Council: she said that she wanted to know by what means were Puran Brothers collecting garbage.
“The Mayor noted that the matter had engaged Council since last year and that there appears to be stubbornness; he said that he mentioned it in a letter to the government when they attempted to use him. He said that he gave facts and therefore proposed that the council authorize the engagement on behalf of the Mayor and citizens of Georgetown to engage the appropriate counsel to have this clear violation of its mandate, its authority, taken at another level so that at least they would attempt to get some form of justice in this country. He was therefore seeking Council’s authority to engage a criminal attorney to pursue this blatant violation of the Council’s position taken since last year. He asked all in favour to proceed with this matter and those against. No one voted against therefore the decision taken was that council agreed to the service of a counsel.
“He then asked that it be recorded that during the debate at the instance of the Director of Solid Waste it was revealed that groups 7&8 are being collected by a particular contractor and in direct contravention with an order by the duly elected council in 2013 as the minutes would show on several occasions the last being that the Council reminded the administration that there should be an advertisement so there could be competitive tendering for the group of garbage collection. He said he spoke slowly so the note taken [would reflect] the correct record.” (Minutes of Statutory Meeting of August 18, 2014, page 9)
Again, on August 25, 2014, “Councillor Jordan asked about the present position concerning tenders for group 7&8 since the Council agreed that the administration does tenders for groups 7&8 since the Council agreed that the administration does tenders for groups 7&8.
“The Town Clerk (ag) said that she did not tender for Groups 7&8 and she would not commit the Council by way of contract.” (Minutes of Statutory Meeting of August 25, 2014, page 5)
On Thursday, December 4, 2014, I wrote Ms Sooba on her refusal to implement the decision of Council to advertise for tenders for garbage collection services for groups 7 and 8. To date, she has not advertised for tenders for collection in those areas.
Unsurprisingly, on January 19, 2015, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr Norman Whittaker, wrote a letter to the Mayor about council’s indebtedness to Puran Brothers Inc for garbage collection and disposal in groups 7 and 8. Here we have a Minister of the government who refuses to deal with the infractions of his imposed Town Clerk but calls on the council to pay someone the council never contracted to collect garbage in groups 7 and 8.
Further, in that very letter, the Minister said that he requested the said contractor to continue to collect household waste in groups 7 and 8.
Two questions: first by what authority did he request that contractor to continue working in those areas? Second, who will pay for the continued provision of that service?
Some time ago, the former Town Clerk permitted contractors to work to assist with garbage collection. When Ms Sooba was imposed on council she refused to pay those contractors arguing that she did not see a contract.
The issue was raised with the Minister and he agreed with her. In this case, however, the Minister finds it convenient to advise the council that it should settle a debt to the tune of millions of dollars that it is not comfortable with and never authorised. We could not accept this double standard by the Minister.
Presently, local communities in groups 7 and 8 have not been receiving efficient collection and disposal services. Clearly, this puts at risk the health of the environment and the public health of residents of those neighbourhoods. We believe that we have a duty to let citizens know the many challenges we face in our effort to improve conditions in the City of Georgetown. However, we remain unflinching in our commitment to provide vital municipal services to all communities in this capital of ours.
Yours faithfully,
Patricia Chase-Green
Deputy Mayor
City of Georgetown
