Dear Editor,
On Wednesday, August 7, President Irfaan Ali mingled with the common folks at Bourda Market. It appeared to be an impromptu visit so, naturally, one would imagine that his utterances were in the same vein; spontaneous and lacking coherence, a rare illness endemic in Ali’s government and jokingly referred to by M&CC operatives as the ‘Garbage In Garbage Out’ (GIGO) epidemic.
Like a typical chameleon, he continues to deceive the nation to achieve his narrow political objectives, often casting aspersions and blaming others when, in fact, it is his government that should be shouldering the responsibility and concomitant blame for the ineptitude of which he speaks.
Mr. Ali has the gall to blame the municipal government for crimes committed during the night at the Bourda Market, a stance even his councillors would find laughable. Just before spouting such unintelligible dogma, the esteemed President should realize that there is a strong correlation between socioeconomic policies/programmes and crime; a breakdown of the former will, naturally, impact concomitantly on the latter. Furthermore, the apparent reluctance of Ali’s administration to address corruption in the public service will impact on other types of criminal activities in other areas. The intellectuals refer to this as ‘The Boomerang Effect.’ One would expect a responsible government to implement relevant policies and programmes aimed at reducing/discouraging criminal activities and take a firm stance against public corruption, rather than the blame-shifting strategies being employed by Mr. Ali and his merrymen.
The Capital City, Georgetown, is approximately 70 square kilometers, with an approximate population of 230,000. It features a vast network of roads, canals, and public open spaces, etc. The functions and responsibilities of the municipal government are clearly defined under the Laws of Guyana Chapter 28:01. These include maintenance of the drainage network, roads, and burial grounds, restrictions upon subdivision of lots, public health services, and waste management disposal among other services. The provision of these services requires a huge financial outlay, which the council is presently challenged to achieve, not by its negligence, but due to the reluctance of the central government to firmly and genuinely support the efforts of the legitimate entity (M&CC) in accruing its ‘pound of flesh’ from defaulting taxpayers. Further, the central government has thwarted investment initiatives by the council through objections from the Local Government Minister and undue influence on administrative staff to stymie or delay implementation of investment initiatives. Such insensitive and unpatriotic attitudes are further compounded by the inability or unwillingness of most ratepayers to honour their obligation to the city and it seems that their reluctance stems from an affirmative nod from the power bosses within the government. President Ali should have addressed that pertinent issue during his recent walk about (or should that be ‘Talk about?’) among the vendors.
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of those citizens and institutions heavily indebted to the city, comprise government and several business entities. The Council has, in the past, and continues to appeal to all delinquent ratepayers, to honour their obligations otherwise, the Council will be forced to resort to applying the parate execution under Section 22 of Chapter 28:01, Laws of Guyana. This gives the M&CC the power to levy on the properties of defaulters but is being regarded as the very last resort.
It is reasonable to assume that President Ali is cognizant of the city’s financial challenges, therefore, he should have been bellowing for all to hear, denouncing the inherent lawlessness exhibited by errant taxpayers. This is vital for the Council to effectively fulfill its mandate. President Ali has blatantly demonstrated absolute disrespect for the Mayor and City Council and continues to make unilateral decisions, implemented by PPP/C and central government operatives. Most of those decisions are lopsided and are deleterious to the citizens in general.
Naturally, the result is unattainable outcomes due to a lack of detailed analysis. One only needs to observe the haphazard placement of a containerized police outpost at the offload cargo bay of the Bourda market. Such decisions increase the danger to life and limb and in any law-abiding atmosphere, would be treated as a criminal act. Collaborating and consulting with the council would have yielded a more broad-based examination of the issue and a prudent commonsensical approach that would have ultimately benefited the city.
Waste disposal is another bugbear and here the city is currently facing two main challenges: a lack of contractual capacity and the reckless dumping of waste by both businesses and ordinary citizens. The council is actively working with two contractors for the improvement of their services, and we, the directorate committee, are confident that this issue will be resolved soon. However, the indiscriminate dumping of waste reflects the lack of respect for the law by citizens and the Council is challenged in its efforts to contain or eliminate such unhealthy practices. The cold reality is that citizens are openly disregarding the law and Ali’s administration seems to be comfortable amidst the nonsense. But what else can one expect? The double standards of the Ali administration will backfire, and the stench would be far more nauseating than that of the huge piles of garbage his government clandestinely approves.
Regards,
Lelon Saul
Lt Col (Ret’d)
Councillor M&CC
