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NCN and its corruption debate

Sep 14, 2012 Letters

DEAR SIR,
The National Communication Network is currently hosting a series of television programmes based on corruption. On the same theme I would like to use your newspaper to bring to the nation’s attention something that has been allowed to go on for too long in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne.
A non-existent group calling itself the Rose Hall Town Anniversary group for over eight years has been abusing the township’s anniversary every September to fill the pockets of a few unemployed individuals who sadly are not even born residents of the township but who dropped in as visitors a few years ago.
I have been living in Rose Hall Town for over fifty years and I can say without fear of correction that no anniversary committee has ever existed in Rose Hall Town and has no record of activities and achievements.
The Committee is a front for one individual who calls himself a “popular promoter” and a few friends and only comes alive every July/August in time to organise the Town week activities in late September.
I recently asked my granddaughter to research the “activities” of this nonexistent group as it relates to the town’s anniversary and her research shocked me. It is surely the time that the relevant authorities including the Office of the President, Ministry of Local Government and the Region Six RDC intervene and put a stop to this nonsense.
Using the daily newspapers for the last seven years, especially reports from Ms. Melissa Johnson from the Kaieteur News, my granddaughter was able to find that the anniversary committee had promised Rose Hall Town residents the following projects from funds raised from the town week activities – feeding of the poor programme, educational sponsorships, repairs to the kiddies corner, library, street signs for every street, evening classes for less fortunate students, water connections and the construction of benabs on the Rose Hall beach, repairs to the Area “H” ground old pavilion and the opening of a gym for residents.
Sadly, all of these promises have remained just that, despite the raising of millions of dollars from years of hosting of town week activities including the popular wash down event at the Area “H” ground.
We were even informed that the equipment for the gym was already purchased and would be available to residents soon but five years on – no gym. The only activities that I am aware of were the painting of a few road signs, the dumping of two loads of mud in the Rose Hall Primary School compound and a donation of a meager $5 000 towards the construction of a sanitary block at the Area “H” ground.
What happened to the remainder of the town weeks funds garnered from the years is a $64,000 question that residents of Rose Hall Town deserve to have answered.
To his great credit and approval of the great majority of residents, former IMC Chairman Mr. B Somrah disassociated himself and the Council from the Anniversary Committee and banned the group from being part of the township anniversary celebration.
Mr. Somrah who eventually was involved in a heated newspapers battle with the committee accused the groups of being non-existent, of corruption, of not accounting for funds and of failing to fulfill promises made to residents on community projects.
Mr. Somrah’s position was supported by the entire council, including me and Presidents of the township. It was therefore a great shock when I learnt that the town council under new leadership had once again associated itself with the same group which one year ago it had described as corrupt and non-existent.
The prime mover of the council’s decision is the senior opposition councilor who is the head of the council’s town day committee. Rose Hall Town deserves better. A broad-based committee should be formed as was done in 2007 under the IMC Chairman Bevon Sinclair leadership. It went on to organise the best ever town week celebration and provided financial statements to residents.
Name withheld

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