Are we better off now than when the new City Hall leadership took charge?

Dear Editor,

A good predictor of the next nine months at City Hall under its current leadership is the last nine months. Citizens and councillors in looking at the period must ask themselves one question: Are we better off now than when the new leadership took charge?

As we close the calendar year we owe hundreds of millions to contractors and other service providers, and this does not include the $1.8 billion owed GPL. Our accounting system leaves much to be desired; it took the Auditor General to tell us that scarcely a dollar of $300 million given by central government for the Georgetown Restoration Programme can be properly accounted for. The government recently turned down a request for a $600 million bailout of the city, including $200 million to fund a cleanup of the capital for Prince Harry’s visit. Last month is perhaps the second month in the last nine in which workers were paid on time. We are in a crisis with no end in sight under the current leadership. Are we better off today than when we started?

Look back to our crude eviction of the vendors and minibuses from the Stabroek Market Square. Because of a lack of clear vision the buses have returned and we still hunt for a permanent home for our vendors. When central government looked at our actions they begged us to be “sensitive” to the plight of the vendors. However, we did not learn from this experience, as we went on to dislocate vendors from Robb and Bourda Streets, a move our Head of State David Granger weighed in on, and described as “reckless”.

We’ve implemented a container fee for which we are yet to pass a bylaw to give it legitimacy, yet are taking a rough hand to block businesses that do not comply with payment. With government intervention we were led away from the courts and into the Tripartite Committee, while we’ve stopped turning up to engage the private sector.

The parking meter contract is now legendary, with government intervention. President Granger characterized its original cost to consumers as “burdensome”, the Ministry of Finance deemed parts of the contract with regard to taxation as “ignorant”, and the Attorney General’s Chambers described other aspects of said contract as “onerous” to citizens. These are but a few of the issues we

made the national headlines with, so the question must be put again, are we better off today than when we started?

City Hall has been rudderless, with no compass or course. We’re fighting a guerrilla war against the decadence of the past; a climb to the tallest tree would tell us, however, we’re in the wrong jungle. That is why new strategic direction is needed. I am suggesting that we build on President Granger’s sound proposition and vision for capital towns as engines for economic development giving leadership to the regions they are a part of, ultimately contributing to national development.

We have to move away from what President Granger calls “compound mentality”, concerned with “control rather than consultation and collaboration with residents”. Instead, with a new ‘capital mentality’ we should be concerned with “moving beyond providing traditional municipal services.” The new emphasis would be on “promoting business, driving economic development and giving leadership to our regions”.

The new vision embraces also a ‘commercial mentality’, where infrastructure, investment, innovation, information and communication technology are all central in fostering economies of scale, which are essential to economic growth within the framework of a green economy.

My vision would realize our capital city as a growth driver within a green economy by pursuing several core initiatives which, over the next year, will see us more fiscally responsible, with streamlined services for efficiency; our workers reoriented for greater productivity; civil society and the private sector engaged towards partnerships ‒ synergies for success.

My agenda would be pro-business to compete with the international capitals of the world because people don’t visit countries, people visit cities. This is why whether coming into our country by sea or air, your destination is Port Georgetown (GEO).

I would meaningfully re-engage the private sector. In this context I would set up the Mayor’s Business Forum that improves what the current Tripartite Committee sets out to do. I would include civil society and increase representation from central government to include, for instance, the Ministry of Business and Ministry of Tourism. Youth representation and representation from the new Guyana Market Vendors Union would also be included.

A few months ago I sat down with the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to discuss the challenges of doing business in our capital city. It was an insightful discussion and I look forward to continued fruitful engagements with these entities, other non-governmental organizations, and citizens as we move Georgetown forward.

Yours faithfully, Sherod Avery Duncan Councillor