Georgetown’s newly-minted Chief Citizen Patricia Chase-Green says widening the city’s revenue base is among her immediate priorities as is ensuring that the newly-elected councillors consult with their constituencies to address their needs as part of the capital’s development.
In an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, Chase-Green, who was elected Mayor on Friday, noted that there have been several proposals geared towards increasing the ways through which the council earns revenue over the years. These proposals, such as the installation of parking meters or opening of parking lots, have to be re-tabled for the new council to deliberate and vote on their feasibility, she noted.
However, she said that one measure which will definitely be taken is the re-valuation of city properties.
“We have not had valuations done in many years and several properties, which begun as residential properties have now been extended to being residential and commercial properties. There have also been the expansion of several commercial and residential properties, so we need to know the present day value of these properties, so that we can ensure the council is being paid accurate rates,” she said.
The new Mayor explained that the municipality is currently engaged in an initiative to regularise communities such as Sophia and Cummings Lodge, whose residents pay no rates though they are considered part of the city.
“We are going to be asked to provide them with services so we must make sure that they are paying the necessary revenue,” she explained.
Her other priorities include upgrading the security services provided by the City Constabulary and upgrading the staff in the City Treasurer’s Department.
Accountability to citizens
Chase-Green stressed that in order for the city to be developed, the councillors must work together to exercise the power which the collective holds. At the same time, she emphasised the need for councillors to be accountable to their constituencies.
“Every resident is part of a constituency and each constituency representative made several promises while campaigning. We now have to ensure that we fulfil these promises, so each councillor has to return to their constituency and work,” she said.
She explained that councillors will be expected to consult with their constituency and communicate with the council so that the needs of the community can be addressed.
“I hope to see a system implemented where every constituency representative is asked to report to council every quarter to explain what they are doing in their constituency and what is needed for their constituency. I would also love to see each councillor having an office in their constituency where they can meet residents, even if it’s under their bottom house,” Green said.
She believes that this system is the best way to ensure that the present clean-up campaign is maintained in the long term.
“We will proceed with the clean-up based on the needs of the constituency. Not every constituency will need the same equipment and some constituencies have systems in place which may be emulated and we all must work together to see it done efficiently,” she said.
Cooperation
According to Chase-Green, her major strength is the ability to work with a collective to achieve goals and she will be deploying it not just with the council but with central government, where necessary.
“There are many projects we need to get done and we can’t do it alone, so if we have to approach, say the Ministry of Infrastructure, to get help, I won’t be afraid or ashamed to do so,” she said.
One such project is the rehabilitation of the Kitty Market. The council has started the rehabilitation of the market, which is projected to cost $240 million.
According to the new mayor, as far as she is aware the rehabilitation is being completed with the revenue collected by the city but she expects that before it is completed a need will arise to request assistance from central government.
Asked why this rehabilitation was not done before now, Chase-Green said that the previous Ministers of Local government, under successive PPP/C administrations, refused to grant approval.
“This project and so many others, such as the rehabilitation of the Stabroek Wharf, have been budgeted for over several years. However, each time we approached central government for necessary subventions, the ministers refused to grant them,” she explained.
She noted, however, that even with these limitations she was able, in her capacity as Chairman of the city’s Social Development Committee, to develop the municipal day care facilities (specifically the Ruimveldt Industrial Site Day Care) to such a standard that they were used as a model to develop similar facilities throughout the Caribbean region.
Chase-Green is, however, looking forward to an easier time with this new council.
“Even if I were Sampson I would not be able to move everything that needs moving in this city without support, not with how the council is structured. So, I am looking forward to cooperation from the council and city administration as well as central government,” she said.
‘Cannot condemn on hearsay’
Asked to share her opinion on the allegations being faced by her fellow APNU+AFC councillor Winston Harding, the new Mayor said she wishes to see the questions surrounding him definitively answered.
Harding has been accused on several occasions of child molestation but though he has been charged and placed before the courts on several occasions, he has never been convicted. Once his candidacy was announced, posters began appearing in his constituency of East and West Ruimveldt proclaiming him a child molester.
Stabroek News reported the accusations two days before the March 18 elections and the APNU+AFC coalition disavowed him as a candidate. Harding, however, went on to win his seat on the council by a landslide and has since indicated that he has no intention of resigning.
“I will boldly stand and proclaim the right of any child to be protected. I will demand that anyone who has abused a child be punished but I cannot completely condemn a man on hearsay. I have not seen any conviction of Mr Harding reported. Why should a brother be condemned for all time for a matter that was put before the court and saw him walk free? If he has committed an offence and he was found guilty, he should pay the price. If he was not found guilty, should society continue to condemn him? A man can only be proved guilty in a court of law for an alleged offence. There are many unanswered questions in this Harding affair and the matter needs to be properly investigated before we condemn him. We cannot condemn him on hearsay. If there were several strong cases against him, why didn’t the authorities, including the former ministers responsible for child care and the Child Care and Protection Agency aggressively pursue him before now? We need to bring closure to this matter both for Harding and the alleged victims,” she said.
