City Hall, Local Govt Ministry intensify efforts to clean city

Aug 17, 2008 News

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The collaboration between City Hall and the Ministry of Local Government is expected to intensify over the next few days as part of plans to urgently bring the city’s preparation for Carifesta X to a successful completion.
It was in this regard Minister of Local Government, Mr Kellawan Lall, recently held discussions with officials at City Hall.
At that forum, which was attended by top city officials including Mayor Hamilton Green and Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, the Minister emphasised the need for every effort to be engaged to ensure that the city meets an acceptable standard as host to the grand event slated to commence later this week.
Minister Lall also commented on the spending plans outlined by the municipality for the $15M which was recently offered by the President to aid the city’s enhancement plans.
The Minister, however, expressed some disappointment that handyman tools are listed among the items the municipality seems to be lacking, since in his opinion such tools should always be in the possession of the municipality to effectively carry out its mandate.
In defence, City Engineer Beverly Johnson said that although City Hall has been trying to keep up with the Carifesta preparation, it has been constrained by the lack of finances.
As a result, she said, the municipality has need for tools as well as manpower.
Among the items to be procured as detailed in the plan are blades for slashers, cat guts, cutlasses, rakes, files and protective masks. These, according to the Deputy Mayor, are expected to be procured at a cost of $500,000.
Mayor Green added that the question of the municipality being without needful tools is as a consequence of the precarious state of its finances, an issue that should have been raised a long time ago since it did not occur overnight.
But according to the Minister, it is difficult for him to understand how the municipality does not have the requisite tools.
“I would suspect that the things that we are asking the City Council to do are normal…these are normal handyman tools like cutlasses, rakes, forks, weeding machines…We were all under the assumption that your gangs would have these and you don’t have to wait for Carifesta time…I am now told that you don’t have rakes, for instance, which is rather embarrassing to me. We don’t have to wait until Carifesta and wait for the Government of Guyana to give money to clean the city… and you have to take that money and buy rakes.”
As such, the Minister said that he can only wonder what is happening within the structure of the City Council.
He, however, noted that since there is need for the preparation process to be completed shortly, there is need for the municipality and the Ministry to collaborate urgently to derive the acceptable standard for Carifesta.
He disclosed that prior to the meeting he has been in contact with several officers of the council, thus, there is a better appreciation of what has been done and what needs to be done.
He noted that there is need for ongoing works to be better supervised, even as he emphasised that there are instances when managers do not properly carry out their duties.
In addition to this, the Minister said efforts must be directed immediately to the labour force, and he urged that a hiring process commence forthwith.
Minister Lall further advised the city officials that the increased presence of constabulary officials in vicinities that are being cleansed will also lend to the process being carried out with a greater degree of efficacy.
During the meeting, a number of areas were identified for sprucing up, and Camp Street all the way to Albouystown was highlighted as areas for intensified works.
To boost the municipal effort, the Minister said he will be putting a crew of workers to deal with the environs of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, but noted they will not be tasked with cleaning the avenues.
But while the hiring of persons to complement the existing staff is another compulsory requirement, the Minister said that the working arrangement of city employees must be addressed.
He said that he has learnt that the cleansing workers operate under strict trade union rules where they commence work at around 09:00 hours and conclude at around 13:00 hours.
“Now for the life of me I cannot understand how some of the main players who keep the city clean…our parapets well landscaped…they are under this strict shift of working just a few hours a day. I can understand the gang that operate under very unhealthy and terrible conditions…but I can’t understand that people raking and slashing are doing this.”
As such the Minister urged that measures be put in place without causing an upheaval to solve the problem in order for the preparation process to move apace.
The recent meeting came as part of the efforts to continue planning and organising of the city in order to complete the necessary work in time to accommodate Guyanese and the visitors who will be involved in Carifesta X.

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