Jagdeo opposes $600M bailout for City Hall

– Minister willing to listen to Councillors

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo does not support Government approving City Hall’s request for a $600 million bailout.
“The City Hall needs to account for the millions it spent over the last year without any public tender before there is any public money,” he told media operatives during a press briefing on Wednesday.

The Auditor General, in his audit of City Hall’s last year operations, found no basis in the award of several contracts for the weeding of parapets, desilting of drains and cutting down trees in various areas around Georgetown since supporting documents were unavailable.
As a result, it could not be determined whether proper transparency and accountability were exercised in the awarding of the contracts. Additionally, there was no evidence of receipt or payee acknowledgement for a payment of $750,000 to a contractor.
The AG Report also highlighted that several payment vouchers were examined – of which 167 had no evidence of vouchers being certified by the accountant or any other authorised officer; 140 vouchers totalling $143.683 million were not approved by the treasurer and 58 vouchers totalling $48.404 million had not been approved by the Finance Committee.
The Mayor and City Council of Georgetown voted to ask the Central Government for a $600 million “bailout” to pay creditors and meet expenses.
Two of City Hall’s creditors, Puran Brothers Disposal Inc and Cevons Waste Management, had threatened to suspend their services over millions owed to them by the municipality.
The decision was made in the wake of uncertainty regarding the success of the “amnesty on interest owed on property rates programme”.
A delegation was slated to make the proposal to the Communities Ministry on Wednesday; however, subject Minister Ronald Bulkan told Guyana Times that he received no visit from any representative of the Council.
When prompted, Bulkan explained that he would listen to the concerns of the City Council regarding why it needed the money, but he could not confirm if he would support the approval of the bailout.
“I don’t want to preempt anything…I will receive them and listen to them and we will move forward step by step,” he stated.
Back in 2011, the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) created quite a ruckus when the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration gave City Hall $215 million to clear its debts and pay workers. (Devina Samaroo)