Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has made it clear that the central government will continue to work directly with the people of Georgetown to bring relief since it cannot depend on the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) which is controlled by the PNC-led APNU.
Speaking on the issue at a press engagement on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo highlighted the lack of accountability at the council, citing it as a concern at the central government level.
He pointed out that the City Council has failed to update its asset register and audit its statements for over 20 years.
“You expect us to work through an unaccountable city council? They have done nothing except collect money and spend money. Even the amnesty … they think we must not do anything; we must just work through the inept, corrupt, useless city council run by APNU,” he expressed.
The government is directly intervening in the management of the council because past experiences have shown that allocated funds are not spent on priority projects.
Some US$15 million was expended by the government to build a garbage disposal site outside of the city while the pumping capacity has been increased to address drainage and irrigation matters in the city.
“So, what have we done over the years? Every single road in the city and the roads are now in a good shape, has been built by the central government running into billions of dollars, every stop light you have seen in the city has gone up because of the government,” he added.
The city is now experiencing massive development and improvements through interventions facilitated directly by the central government, which, Dr Jagdeo informed is the preferred route at this time.
“We have made it clear a very long time ago, that the residents of the city deserve to see the progress that is happening in other parts of the country and we will work directly with them even if it means getting projects to clear their alleyways and fixing their roads and fixing their drainage,” he stated. [Extracted and Modified from DPI]
