Georgetown’s chief citizen needs to provide answers!

Dear Editor,
At the August 26th statutory meeting of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown (M&CC) a ridiculous, selfish, and shameful institutional rate policy for political parties was bullied through the approval process.
The continuous cry of being cash-strapped and inadequately supported by the central Government, compounded by the cry of defaulting ratepayers, has always surfaced when the question of why the M&CC is failing to discharge its mandate arises. Monday’s decision proved to every single citizen of Georgetown, and by extension Guyana, that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
It is hypocritical for a political party to demand that every citizen should pay their rates and taxes, and there be resort to parate execution for non-compliance, while audacity is displayed in instituting a policy that allows political parties to pay a mere 25% of their original dues while they simultaneously continue to benefit from the only core service provided, which is garbage collection, albeit in an inconsistent manner.
As a councillor, I have always held a clear and open mind on any idea or suggestion proposed by my fellow councillors, as I genuinely believe in the necessity of deliberation on, and examination of, diverse opinions. However, the welfare of all citizens must be top priority. Hence, while this matter was brought before us by the Mayor, Mr. Mentore, as a request from the PNC’s coalition partner the Alliance for Change, it was decided that the matter should be further discussed, but outstanding rates must be duly settled.
I wish to make it abundantly clear that PPP/C councillors, on Monday August 26th, strongly opposed consenting to the request, and stated all of the reasons why, including seeing this document as self-centred; not in the best interest of citizens; an abuse of power; hypocritical, among other descriptions; and even pleaded with our fellow councillors while still pointing out many of the deficiencies in the document.
It is clear now that the PNC-led council, headed by Mr Mentore, always had ulterior motives, which were exposed by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference, when he revealed that an enormous amount of money is owed to the M&CC by the PNC on a number of their properties, which includes $6.7 billion on the Congress Place property alone.
Citizens of Georgetown, and by extension Guyana, should take this opportunity to examine the significance of what unfolded right before their eyes. It’s no secret what the agenda of the leadership of this PNC-led council is.
However, what I can promise, as a PPP/C Councillor, is that we will continue to fight and advocate for the betterment of Georgetown.

Yours respectfully,
Steven Jacobs,
Councillor – Mayor
and Councillors
of the City of
Georgetown