More than $400M needed to rehabilitate NA drainage network – Mayor

New Amsterdam’s Mayor Wainwright McIntosh has said that an excess of $400 million is currently needed to rehabilitate the town’s drainage network.
The Mayor’s comments were made at the opening of the New Amsterdam Town Day activities on Thursday evening.
New Amsterdam, which is 172 years old, is currently celebrating its 133rd anniversary as a municipality. To observe this occasion, the Mayor and Town Council has organised a ‘Town Day’ which spans into next month.
Addressing residents at the opening ceremony, McIntosh said the municipality is being starved of the resources needed to rehabilitate its drainage network noting that it far exceeds the $18 million annual subvention provided by the Government.
“It will cost us more than $400 million spanning from the Canje bridge all the way to Glassgow Housing Scheme. In this oil rich economy, $18 million cannot afford us the ways and means to resuscitate our inter-lot drains,” he said.

“As we celebrate 133 years, we are not only honouring our past but also embracing our future. New Amsterdam has always been a place where people look out for each other, where neighbours become friends, and where we strive together for a better tomorrow. Fellow citizens may I caution you, do not the elements destroy the fabric of New Amsterdam,” he added.
Apart from the Government’s annual subvention, the municipality also earns its own revenue from services offered. According to the Town Clerk, the municipality would have collected 61 per cent of what it budgeted to collect for 2024 so far.
However, the Town Clerk said the municipality faces a challenge in collecting property taxes from Government agencies.
She pointed out that systems are currently in place for property owners who are in default in their property tax, to bring their accounts up-to-date.
“Currently, we have amnesty which is for the period 2001 to 2010 and 2024 to 2024. This amnesty will end of October 31. So, I encourage those who are in arears to come and catch the last few days of this amnesty.”
Since becoming a Municipality in 1891, 67 Mayors would have served the municipality with two being female.
At Thursday’s opening ceremony, addresses were also given by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and leader of the Alliance for Chance Nigel Hughes.
New Amsterdam became a town in Guyana in 1842. It was initially established as a Dutch settlement in the early 17th century and later grew in prominence during the British colonial period.
It was declared a municipality in 1883. This designation allowed the town to have its own local Government and administrative structure. (G4)