Dear Editor,
I would like to know why it is so difficult if not impossible for the Georgetown Municipality to get its financial systems in order. For decades now that has been the bane of the Council and yet succeeding Councils and administrations of the city seem to lack the desire, the courage and the moral rectitude to tackle this problem frontally.
If the Council is serious about correcting this age old problem, they will have to elect a Chairman and Finance Committee whose members are knowledgeable about fiscal planning and who have the political will to make the hard policy decisions in the best interest of the city and not protect partisan interests. The Council and the Local Government Commission need to hire Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officers that are experienced, qualified, and capable of functioning at this very senior and responsible level. And just as importantly they must have a competent, trained and skilled Auditor and audit team put in place.
If the Ministry of Communities can do one good thing for the citizens of Georgetown, it would be to engage the services of a few good private accounting/auditing firms and have them descend upon City Hall with the scope and authority to carry out a complete forensic audit of its systems.
One wonders what has happened to the purported human resource audit that was commissioned more than a year ago but for which the results are still to be revealed. One wonders what has happened to the Council’s asset register, which should have recorded what has happened to all of its vehicles and properties, including its reserves that have been farmed out many times without the knowledge and consent of the Council like the wharf area aback of the Constabulary Training Centre, like the municipal reserve that once linked Lama Avenue to Jacaranda Avenue in Bel Air Park that has been given to a businessman, and like the reserve on Mandela Avenue that has been leased and operated by a former municipal official. One wonders when audits will be carried out on projects such as the Kitty Market construction, the Constabulary Training School, the City Hall Restoration Fund that has been set up many times before, the City anniversary celebration fund which was
supposedly funded by friends of the Council to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, the parking meter project, the millions spent on tools, equipment and services at the Solid Waste Department, and also the cemetery clean up initiative etc. etc.
Clearly, the powers that be at the Council, have no interest in having their slate wiped clean, in having their books put in order, and in restoring fiscal transparency to City Hall.
The Mayor should make the restoration of financial credibility of the Council his first and foremost priority.
Yours faithfully,
Deodarie Putulall
