Dear Editor,
With preparations underway for large scale celebrations of Georgetown’s quartoseptcentennial anniversary, one question pops up in the minds of several of its citizens, and that is what is there to celebrate?.
Indeed, with poor street lighting which contributes to the daily armed robberies, carjackings and wanton lawlessness in the city, pot-holed roads that cause many accidents and destroy the undercarriages of our vehicles, the Le Repentir cemetery in an atrocious, abominable, and horrible condition, the clogged drains that lead to the flooding of most of the city, the massive robberies that occur in and around the municipal markets unchecked by the City Constabulary, with City Hall in cardiac arrest according to two international experts with bits and pieces constantly falling off, one wonders how it is that the Council’s could be in such a celebratory mood.
It has been reported that not a dollar will be used from the council coffers, but rather the Council’s friends in the business sector, have indicated their willingness to underwrite the whopping 19 million dollar bill that these celebrations will cost. Will the citizens or even the Councillors ever be told who these ‘friends of the Council’ are and how much each contributed? Will there be a thorough financial audit done after the event, unlike the Council’s accounts for the last two decades? One can only hope that these contributing friends are not contractors, suppliers and other persons that do business with the Council, or they would only be advancing these monies to the Council, with sure ways of getting them back from us the citizens.
It is stupid, unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at that the Mayor and Town Clerk could be having a big fancy launch at the front of the Stabroek Market, whilst at the back the roof and other parts are collapsing. Wouldn’t their time, money and effort not be better spent ensuring the safety and comfort of the vendors and shoppers of that market?
What is the logic of the Mayor hosting a fabulous $8000 per plate dinner party, for which they are coercing officers, business persons and others to buy into and attend. Would it not have been more meaningful to feed the hungry, homeless and the poor in the City? The Bible says we are to care for the poor, which involves feeding the hungry.
Similarly, rather than having a $5,000 per head cocktail reception, maybe the Council could have organized a summer programme for the city’s children, particularly the vulnerable ones with adventure sports in which they could have offered progressive courses enabling students to become independent leaders and to develop their personal skills and group management skills.
But the most ridiculous of all is the beach party at the Marriott Hotel beachfront, which probably should be called ‘Comedy on the Waterfront’. When will City Hall get serious about the crises we the residents face here in Georgetown?
Yours faithfully,
Kwasi Sanderson
