Dear Editor,
There exists within the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown a very grave, consequential and unlawful state of affairs, which immediately needs to be dealt with by the relevant authorities to bring a speedy end to the exploitation and suffering of the employees of that institution.
In clear violation of the laws governing the Guyana Revenue Authority, the National Insurance Scheme, the credit unions and other allied entities in this country, the administration of the Georgetown Municipality deducts ‘pay as you earn’ (PAYE) taxes, national insurance contributions, credit union and pension scheme deductions from the pay packets of employees, and either withholds these deductions for an inordinate period of time, or, in some instances, does not remit them at all.
This is done in order to delay or offset costs associated with their mammoth payroll, which they cannot afford each month; so, by withholding payment of these sums of money that they deduct from their employees, they use it as a saving through a process of deferred payment.
In the case of the NIS, the Human Resources Department routinely makes elementary errors such as providing incorrect NIS numbers; spelling employees’ names incorrectly, and providing employees’ names without their NIS numbers.
These supposed mistakes are very costly to Council’s employees–both financially and in terms of lost time – as they have to endure unacceptably long delays and, worse, no benefits for hospitalisation, treatment and medication.
For the GRA, it is the same situation, whereby millions in deductions are not paid over routinely, and many employees discover this only when they file their returns and are told that their taxes are not paid. They then have to spend weeks running between City Hall and GRA to have this egregious situation sorted out.
I call on the Guyana Revenue Authority, the National Insurance Scheme, and all the other entities to stop giving the M&CC a free pass, and ensure that entity is made to face the full force of the law as would be applicable to other defaulting private institutions.
It is time that law and order be restored at City Hall. It is time for an audit to be undertaken on the City’s finances, and it is time for a Commission of Inquiry to be held there to root out nepotism, corruption maladministration, and graft there.
Sincerely,
Sean Moniz
