Dear Editor,
The Youth For Local Government (YFLG) is appalled by the actions and statements coming from the Georgetown municipality, mainly the utterances of the Mayor, Councillor Oscar Clarke and the Town Clerk on the parking meter fiasco. Mayor Chase-Green revealed her ignorance by first stating, “it would be unethical for the team to visit before the contract was signed.” Really? Who pays for and collects a shoe before ensuring it fits?
Chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr Clarke, attempted to support the Mayor’s statement by saying “It would have been unethical to accept people’s money to go; we didn’t have any money, we didn’t have any money to do this project, we had to sign on to this project and if we would not have done that, we would not have been invited by the company to go check the stuff… They said look, soon we sign off on this thing we must come down and see everything and if you are not in agreement with it we could contest that.”
We have tried to understand the ramblings of Mr Clarke and make sense of them, but what is most interesting is the final sentence quoted above. This statement left us wondering if those who travelled to Mexico and Panama really understand the concept of negotiations and the content of the contract, and if they ensured that the contract was one that would see the citizens of Georgetown gaining more from it than they would be losing. Or is it that they just blindly signed because they wanted a trip and 20% of the income for the city.
While it is clear that this contract was signed in November 2015, it is our belief that the present councillors should have the opportunity to review and vote on the implementation of said project. What is even more worrying is the fact that the top brass PNC clique at the council feel as though they are the sole authority on council matters. The mayor boldly confessed that the councillors will not be given a copy of the contract because “it’s a private document of the city council.” But wait, aren’t the councillors, members of the said council? Should they not be privy to all contracts that were voted on by a previous council, especially if the contract will be implemented under their watch? Furthermore why all the secrecy as to the details of the contract?
There are many questions surrounding the company involved in this contract, since nothing about it seems credible ‒ the address, the expertise of the owner, previous works, etc. Let’s look at things from a different angle. We have a foreign company investing US$10 million, that is G$2 billion and getting 80% in return of the income which is estimated to be G$400 million annually. That’s $400 million leaving our country every year for nearly fifty years totalling $20 billion. Now wouldn’t it be wiser, or should I say, more ethical, for the council to use its powers to borrow, and take a loan from the bank to implement such a project and ensure that we don’t have $18 billion of revenue extracted from the country which could be used to develop this great city.
Consultation in processes like these is key, not only to ensure that the citizens are aware of what is being proposed, but to also ensure that the decision made is best for all involved. The decisions that have been made thus far by the council, including the displacement of the vendors, the breaking down of the dredge shop and now the signing of a contract which has so many questions leads one to wonder if these are the decisions that experienced councillors make as we reflect on Mr Clarke’s statements on Nomination Day: “And there are people who will have to bring experience to bear in the new council. You call it old, but I am calling them experienced councillors.” Maybe we should examine the type of experience he was alluding to.
In closing, while we agree with the government’s decision not to meddle in the affairs of the M&CC we call on the APNU+AFC coalition to help their members who are a part of the council to understand the tenets of the APNU+AFC’s mantra of a Good Life For All and the meaning of words such as transparent, transparency, accountable and accountability, which can be found four, four, two and six times respectively in their manifesto. It is time that the Mayor, Town Clerk and Chairman of the Finance Committee stop the authoritarianism and allow a democratic process in all areas of decision-making. They should let good sense prevail as they were elected to serve and not to impose their will on the people.
Yours faithfully,
Clayon Halley
Youth for Local Government
