Dear Editor,
With the upcoming Local Government Elections next month, citizens of Georgetown will have the opportunity to elect a City Council that will proceed to select a Mayor from its ranks. The Mayor and the Council will then plan and manage the city’s affairs and development for the duration of their term in office. Of the parties fielding candidates for election, in my view as an independent observer from abroad, I believe Team Benschop is the best option for the City’s future development.
Contrary to what has been peddled in recent years, the deterioration of Georgetown did not start with the coming to office of the PPP as the Central Government in 1992. It started in the 1970s when City Hall, under the control of the governing party at the time, began to turn a blind eye to infractions
of the City’s bylaws and building regulations in favour of business people that supported the governing party. Matters got progressively worse and by the 1980s, garbage started to pile up in certain areas of the City. With nationalization and the near collapse of the economy, streets started to deteriorate and garbage collection almost ceased. Officials also became lackadaisical in pursuing defaulting taxpayers to collect tax revenues. By the time Mr Hoyte became President, the sides of many prominent streets were piled high with garbage. I recall on one occasion, Mr Vibert Parvatan who was an Executive Officer of Laparkan at the time, organized a group of private sector people who, with their own trucks and funds, proceeded to clean the commercial centre of the City.
After 1992, in the early years of the PPP administration, the Central Government undertook the repaving of a number of streets in Georgetown when it was felt that the City was not prepared to act. By then City Hall politicians were bent on non-cooperation with the Central Government and vice-versa. Of course, we know that flooding and the garbage situation are issues that plagued the City over the last decade. These came about for a number of reasons which were cumulative. City Hall and the Central Government, continued to turn a blind eye to breaches of building regulations which resulted in covering of drains. Also, plastic bags and styrofoam food containers gained prominence as the economy recovered, and with improper garbage collection and disposal, they ended up in the drains, thereby causing further blockages. That too was the period when the last El Nino cycle ended and more than average rainfall became the norm, hence recurring flooding of the City was experienced.
I believe the City needs not only a new breed of leaders but, more importantly, young leaders who can bring a new vision for the future. I have followed Mark Benschop’s activism, as reported in the press periodically, since his release from prison.
Although I do not know him personally, to me based on the press coverage over the years, he has demonstrated maturity, genuine care for all citizens, and commitment to stand up for their rights. Also from the reports, I gather that he has lived and worked in the United States. As such, he would have experienced the services of a well-run, modern city, and knows how it is operated. The preceding factors lead me to believe that he is the right person for the position of Mayor. For this to happen, he needs his team to be elected. The future of Georgetown is now in the hands of its citizens. They will have to live with the decision they make on election day.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Hergash
