The Mayor has a habit of putting her foot in her mouth

Dear Editor,

Each time the Mayor of Georgetown opens her mouth, she ends up putting her foot inside of it. Her most recent interview, before winging out to Chile, was to announce that the Deputy Mayor is not entitled to transportation and other benefits by law.

That may be so, but then again there are a lot of persons at City Hall that are enjoying a lot of benefits to which they are not entitled to by law, but that does not prevent them from doing so, including her good self.

If we take a look at the Town Clerk he can always be seen accompanied by a retinue of bodyguards, to which he is not entitled by law. He may want to point to his predecessor having a bodyguard, but that was not at the Council expense, as in his case.

By convention, Town Clerks enjoyed a static security at their residences which he also does. He is not entitled by law to have several cars being provided for his convenience, including one that is being rented for an astronomical sum per month, along with several drivers. Neither is he entitled by law to dine at fancy restaurants with friends and bill the Council, instead he should be using the entertainment allowance to which he is paid each month.

The City Engineer has been provided with a large four-wheel drive vehicle manufactured by Nissan for his exclusive use, to which he is not entitled by law. The Town Clerk and senior officers are not entitled by law to be provided with state-of-the-art cellular telephones with voice and data services being paid for by the Council, including roaming charges and overseas calls.

The Mayor, Town Clerk and City Engineer are not entitled by law to use the vehicles that are assigned to them for transport all around Guyana, but rather should just be using them in and around Georgetown to carry out their duties.

In fact it was most unfortunate and improper that one of Council’s drivers died recently on West Coast Demerara whilst transporting home the children of a senior officer, way outside of the confines of Georgetown.

But surely the government could make a vehicle available to the Deputy Mayor just as they made one available to the Town Clerk, or is it that the Deputy Mayor wants to be the only city official pursuing the dream of making Georgetown a green city, whilst the others are chugging around in their gas guzzling SUVs and luxury cars that are helping to pollute the environment?

Do the Laws and Entitlements apply to all, or only to some?

Sincerely,

Shanta Singh