Jagdeo accuses M&CC of gross mismanagement as Govt steps in to rescue Georgetown

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has launched a scathing critique of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC), accusing the body of severe mismanagement and neglect of basic services, despite receiving a substantial monthly income.
Speaking at a press conference, Jagdeo said the Central Government has had to take over numerous responsibilities traditionally managed by the City Council, including road construction, sanitation, and public recreational spaces.
“The Central Government has taken over road construction in the city,” Jagdeo said. “Every road that has not been done will be done. We promised this at Local Government Elections.”

Additionally, contracts have been awarded to clean the internal drainage systems — another responsibility Jagdeo claims the M&CC has failed to fulfil.
Beyond sanitation, Jagdeo noted that the government has also taken the lead in rehabilitating public recreational facilities. “We are upgrading all 34 recreational spaces in the city. We’re putting in new parks, beautifying the seawall, and creating parking spaces. All of this is being done with billions of dollars from Central Government funds — not the city,” he explained.
Jagdeo then turned his attention to the financial practices of City Hall. He revealed that since the introduction of a container fee under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, the City Council has been receiving between $25 million to $30 million every month from the Shipping Association. “Over nine years, they’ve collected over $2 billion from this single fee. But there’s no transparency. No one knows how that money is being used,” he said.
According to Jagdeo, the City Council has failed to produce audited financial statements for several years, making it impossible to track how public funds are being allocated or spent. “If you don’t have audited statements, you can’t verify anything — not collections, not expenditures, and certainly not whether the money is being used for the public good,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, he revealed that the Government is delivering on its promise to upgrade roads and other infrastructure at the Le Repentir Cemetery, Guyana’s most famous cemetery.
“Tens of thousands of Guyanese have one of their relatives buried there and they just can’t access… I am pleased to say that I spoke with (Public Works Minister Juan) Edghill and already I think 60 small contractors have been awarded to upgrade, to do the roads, drainage; and you will have lights in the cemetery so people can drive through and then hopefully we can do other things to upgrade the cemetery,” he revealed.