Dear Editor,
I learned the shocking on Friday, and it takes much to bring to that state. The Mayor of Georgetown is not a salaried servant. We all know that the current Mayor is Pandit Ubraj Narine, but it would be interesting to know how many Guyanese, how many residents of the capital city are aware that his office does not come with a monthly paycheck. As I proceed with today’s public service effort, this has more to do with the office of mayor, and less to do with who is the holder of the job. Further it expands to cover all mayors across Guyana.
In an effort to present the pay picture in all of its elements and accuracy, it is noted that the City Mayor receives two stipends. One is from the City itself, and the other from the Ministry of Local Government. It is my understanding that the latter is smaller and usually three to four months late. When I added the two stipends, and with recognition that the work of the Georgetown Mayor is not 9 to 5 job, or 5 days a week occupation, but closer to 24/7 and an on-call reality of 365 days, it dawns that the mayor is receiving less than the hourly minimum wage. Some choice adjectives rush to the fore, but they are all unprintable. I settle for that old American gem snafu, with emphasis on the last two letters.
To put politely and moderately, this is an ugly atrocity, a violation of all that is thoughtful, fair, reasonable, and dignified. I don’t care whether it is a PPP mayor or a PNC one holding down the position, and to repeat my earlier position, applies to both the city and rural areas. It just should not be; not to anyone or at any time. To make a bad situation worse, there are no allowances attached to the office of mayor. All of this is terribly wrong, and we should not put our public servants (mayors are, regardless of political pedigree) through this kind of financial embarrassments, these personal indignities. Come on, folks, these officeholders are usually not from Goldman Sachs, or Guyanese refugees with a long oil company stint. Meaning, that they can afford to work on the house, and that public service represents their noble giving back to country, citizen, and community.
The question I put before all Guyanese is how these mayors take care of their families and their obligations. Another couple is how do they manage to live with dignity and why do they want what is a thankless job, and then stay in it. These troubling questions are put before the President, Minister of Local Government, and the people who table bills in the National Assembly. I think that we can do better for our officeholders operating at these levels. When we don’t, this not only humiliates them, it also embarrasses all of us. It makes empty barrels of Guyanese who bray and crow about how well we are doing, and how much better we will be doing with each passing day. When we can’t take care of our own, don’t care if others are left to languish in their anguish, due to financial strains, then we are less than worthy people. Or, to say it more sharply, we are callous and troubled people, and especially when we relish presiding over and delivering these kinds of sordid practices.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
