CITY HALL NEEDS A WAKE UP CALL!

Mar 27, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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If you are selling a property, you need two sets of compliance documents, both of which attract fees. The fees are fixed and therefore fairly straightforward to calculate.
The first set is the income tax fees and the processing of the compliance will take at least one week, if you are lucky. The second set of fees should not take that long.
Obtaining a compliance indicating that you have paid your rates and taxes and as such are free of any encumbrances to sell the property should only take a few hours.
However, the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) is yet to receive compliance from the city’s municipality, even though it has applied since last year. The executive cannot understand what the cause of the delays is, and so too it seems do officials of the municipality.
In the process, a life-saving medical centre is being delayed and this is unforgivable considering the importance of the project.
This is the sort of situation that the country has come to because of the incompetence that is rife at Town Hall.
It should no longer be tolerated but it will, because despite the fact that the PNC and its sidekicks’ control of Town Hall has brought the capital city to a disgraceful state, it is most likely, almost certain that come local government elections next year, that the residents of Georgetown will overwhelmingly re-elect the opposition into power at Town Hall.
There is still, however, the problem of what needs to be done in relation to the delay in the processing of the compliance of the rates and taxes for the CIOG.This is a matter which requires the Ministry of Local Government to act.
It should establish a one-man investigating team to ascertain whether this matter has been handled with the desired level of efficiency, and if not, to make a judgment as to whether any senior official needs to be sent packing.
Unless, persons are held accountable for their actions, this situation of delays in processing basic documents will continue. As such the Ministry of Local Government should move to investigate the complaint by the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana.
When an investor reads about the problems that the CIOG is encountering, then they will not bother about investing in the capital. In fact, given the record of the Georgetown municipality, it is surprising that the CIOG is going ahead with the establishment of a medical centre in the city.
It should seriously consider moving this centre outside of the precincts of Georgetown.
In fact, the government should seriously leave the capital to die a natural death, because there is no way that any progress can be achieved under the present administration at Town Hall, and there is no way that the population of the city is ever going to place the ruling party in charge of the affairs of Georgetown. As such, Guyanese have to be content with deteriorating conditions in the capital.
So bad are things that we are told that last year the Council collected less than 80% of its budgeted revenue.
Considering that the taxes are not inordinate, it shows that even to collect from a small base is beyond the municipality, which has made it a habit of complaining about not having enough revenue.
Well how can they ever have sufficient revenue when their collection rate is so poor? And why do they need more sources of revenue when it is clear that they are not meeting their collection targets and have to be consistently bailed out by Central Government?
The private sector owes the council millions. But how are they going to collect this unless they are prepared to make some of these businesses that owe taxes an example, and take them to Court. When a few of these businessmen lose their properties for failure to pay their rates and taxes it will lead to a situation where those who owe the council will fall over themselves to pay their taxes. But the Council has had, since 1993, to begin taking the defaulters to court. How many have been taken to court?
The fact of the matter is that Georgetown is going to pieces. It is no longer the pride and joy of Guyana. It is a disgrace and the reason for this is that what we have is a lot of excuses for inaction.
The Ministry of Local Government now has the opportunity to take action against the council. It has a complaint made in the press by a major religious organisation. That complaint should be investigated, and if anyone is guilty of not acting efficiently, then disciplinary action should be taken.
This will wake up those who are slumbering at Town Hall and force them to move more expeditiously, especially when it comes to projects that will enhance the city, such as the medical centre that the CIOG plans to establish.

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