| Mayor Green lashes out at Gov’t for non-payment of taxes…as reports surface that contactors to resume collection todayBy Sharmain Cornette“Government is the most delinquent of taxpayers and is setting a bad example to the rest of the country,Cheap Soccer Jerseys,” said City Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday.The Chief Citizen,Wholesale Jerseys Paypal, at a press conference which saw the attendance of some concerned city residents,Custom Raptors Jersey, said that the government still owes the municipality rates and taxes for the second and third quarters for this year,Cheap NFL Jerseys 2016, and has made no attempt to honour its obligation.“It is a government in any decent, democratic society that will set the pattern…but when the government is not doing that what are they saying to other people?”And given the limited financial resources that are afforded the municipality, the Mayor lamented the fact that the municipality continues to be faced with a protracted financial problem. He related that the entity’s revenue base has on repeated occasions been constrained by the powers that be.The efforts to withhold much needed finances from the municipality, Green said, are geared at creating such a severe problem that has the potential of rendering the municipality incapable of operating.“Garbage collection and disposal cost us several thousands of dollars. Those are facts, not a figment of somebody’s imagination. If we calculate what we spend, you are talking about 34 percent of our possible revenue earning is going to this one activity of garbage collection and disposal.”The dilemma has been worsened, the Mayor said,Cheap Soccer Jerseys Wholesale, as evidence suggests that more people are bringing in their garbage from the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara, as there are no facilities in those areas. Further compounding the situation, he said, is the fact that the new dumpsite at Haags Bosch is still not operational as was promised by Government.“There was the big song and dance that the facility would have been ready by August 1…The fact that that facility is not yet ready has put an extra burden on the Georgetown municipality because we now have to continue operating the Le Repentir dumpsite beyond the anticipated close down period of July 31.”The municipality, according to Green, is currently offering its services to some 43,000 households but can ill-afford to sustain its operation if the lack of needful financial resources persists. Green recounted that it was just recently that the Minister, under whose purview City Hall falls, indicated that financial assistance would follow if a cut in the wage bill is effected. However, the Mayor noted that the municipality is not prepared to engage such action as the municipality has a need for additional human resources and could not entertain talks about depleting those currently on board.“What the government has done over the years is to remove the capability from the Georgetown municipality and I will not speak in generic terms I will give specifics, and unlike some people, I am not prepared to make irresponsible and un-provable statements. It is a sad situation which continues…”The mayor also lashed out at recent statements made by Minister Manniram Prashad, who has responsibility for the Tourism Ministry, calling the Minister’s remarks about the city’s garbage problems “political propaganda.” The Minister in a recent statement,Wholesale Jerseys, Green noted, urged that the municipality do its work as it is being duly paid and stop squandering the funds it receives.According to the Mayor, the municipality has in every possible way sought to step up its efforts to address the problem of recalcitrant ratepayers, several of whom have been taken before the court of law. He even cited the names of a few businesses that owe multi-million-dollar debts and have not attempted to render what is rightly due to the municipality.At the municipal statutory meeting yesterday, the issue of the garbage dilemma continued even gaining the attention of Chairman of the Municipal Implementing Committee, Keith Burrowes.However, by evening yesterday word reaching top municipal officials was that the garbage contractors – who had since May withdrawn their services from the municipality – were paid by Government and were prepared to resume full operation today.The City Mayor in an invited comment last evening revealed that no official disclosure was made to the municipality,Arizona Diamondbacks Gregor Blanco Jersey, but he had learnt that the contractors were paid.“We don’t know whether they were paid in full or what percentage but I was just made to understand they will resume operation. This is a new form of democracy…” the Mayor added.By late last night official word in the form of a statement from the Government Information Agency (GINA) revealed that Cevons Waste Management and Puran Brothers Disposal Services were paid a “comfortable sum of finance” from the Government for the much needed garbage disposal exercise in the capital city.According to the statement, the intervention came after representatives of the two companies met with President Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall yesterday at the Office of the President.The statement noted that although Minister Lall was not at liberty to disclose the amount paid to the contractors, he did admit that it was enough for them to resume operations without any financial strain. Yesterday’s meeting, according to the statement, also focused on an alternative to disposal of sewage in the vicinity of Kingston with the Marriot Hotel coming on stream. |
