Dear Editor,
With reference to a story in Stabroek News, dated 3rd October 2016 captioned `Cash-strapped Bartica pleading with residents to pay up’, the following is my response.
It’s premature, a smokescreen and exposes the incompetence of the council to effectively manage the town even with a titanic-size revenue base, compliments of central government for extending the boundaries of Bartica for township status.
The Bartica Municipality is eight months old and is already in the begging attitude. It’s premature at this time and period to ask residents to pay up when the economy of Bartica remains in a coma due to the falling gold price. Bartica depends solely on mining for survival in the absence of industries and factories and a diversification plan from being dependent on mining. When the price for gold sneezes in a town like Bartica, residents catch the cold.
The finance committee chairman, Kenneth Williams, indicated his failure to effectively plan to generate revenue other than begging residents, proposing toll stations rather than sitting down to find ways and means and strategies to bring in much needed monies as he claims is owed to the council. The chairman claims that nine million dollars are owed from 2011 to 2016 and in my opinion the council should consider a proposal to grant an amnesty to persons, both businesses and residents, in an effort to settle all outstanding debts to the council.
The cries of the council for residents and businesses to pay up will fall on deaf ears. One of the reasons being that there is no economic activity taking place in Bartica presently. Residents are burdened with other commitments and the business community is to some degree experiencing a decrease in business activity.
The Bartica Town Council, by leaps and bounds, has a very large revenue base that has been extended due to the holding of the long overdue Local Government Elections. Bartica has been extended beyond seven avenues and nine streets.
The new council has under its coffers for revenue to come in, three quarries, namely: BK Quarry, St Mary’s Quarry, Big Hope Quarries and the Itaballi toll station.
The former Bartica NDC/IMC, while three years in office never went about begging residents or going to the media to air issues and problems of the council. The former IMC sat as a unified council and brainstormed and utilized its best human resources to find ways and means to generate revenue for the council without placing the burden on the residents when faced with similar circumstances the present municipality is faced with.
The former IMC built a forty-eight stall arcade at Mongrippa Hill where vendors pay $6,000 a month. The now town council has reduced that fee in the name of politics to $4200 a month. Why is the council crying blood now?
At the time the former IMC demitted office in October 2015, the Bartica market alone was generating over a million dollars per month.
The town council has, as its revenue earners the following: the Bartica Market and its extension, the Bartica Arcade; Momgrippa Hill Arcade, sand pits, loam pits, the abattoir, landing fees of vendors and other small revenue earners.
I fail to comprehend how the eight-month-old council is experiencing financial difficulties when there isn’t any new or improved services offered by the town council that warrant the need for increased spending. Is the present council on an unnecessary spending spree?
The town council should be engaging central government to have at least 45% of all royalties leaving the town remain at the local municipality or consider a proposal to have the Itaballi toll station come under the management of the town council which will generate much needed revenue for the council without placing the burden on residents.
I urge the town council to engage central government on a proposed Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) for Bartica.
Yours faithfully,
Sherwyn Delano Downer
Former Bartica NDC/IMC
spokesman.