Georgetown belongs to the people – Time to stop the madness

Jun 05, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Sadly the PPP/C government has continued to allow the “Sooba debacle” to cast a dangerously dark cloud over the Georgetown City Council. This entire fiasco can be described as nothing but a shameful and disgraceful act of the ruling regime. This ongoing despicable charade being piloted by the PPP/C government exposes the administration’s vindictiveness, incompetence, stupidity, lawlessness and disrespect for the people of Georgetown and the larger Guyanese community.
What this government has done, through the Minister of Local Government, is to once again put its partisan political agenda above the people of Georgetown and the country. Foolishly, they believe that “milking Sooba” will in some way create a damning indictment on the PNCR, their chief political rival, and the Mayor of Georgetown.
In the minds of the architects of the “Sooba Milking Scheme”, allowing Georgetown to swirl in an ongoing pool of controversy will be beneficial to the PPP/C at the time of local government elections. They foolishly believe that the residents of Georgetown are naïve enough to hand over management of the capital city in the hands of the PPP/C regime. How else can you explain the government’s decision to sacrifice the management of the nation’s capital city at the expense of protecting a town clerk, appointed by the regime?
What secret does Carol Sooba have for the PPP/C that would cause it to abrogate its responsibility to thousands of citizens in order to attempt to deify and promote Sooba? The Courts ruled that Sooba’s appointment as town clerk is not legitimate, the councilors voted against her sitting as town clerk, the market vendors picketed and denounced her, the people of Georgetown cast a “no confidence motion” against her, why then should she remain as town clerk when she had been rejected in these significant ways?
In a true democracy the people rule, and in this case the residents of Georgetown have spoken, through the votes cast against Sooba, by the councilors. Georgetown residents do not want any political tool as their town clerk. Sooba’s continued presence in the office of town clerk constitutes a serious affront to the people of Georgetown.
The government has allowed this situation to get way out of hand and it has continued to say to the Guyanese people that Carol Sooba’s political survival is more important to the PPP/C than the people of Georgetown. It is time that the people of Georgetown stop this charade, no political office is more important than the concerns of the people. Georgetown is not PPP/C football and should not be treated in this manner.
Recently we read of reports that the council’s statutory meeting could not have been held because Sooba locked the doors to the room where the meeting was supposed to have been held. Councillors also reported that the City Hall is being inundated by a number of unsavory characters, who are acting as Sooba’s bodyguards and the PPP/C’s agents of intimidation.
Let me pause here to remind your readers that this kind of thuggery and scare tactics are nothing new by the PPP/C. Recall that this same strategy was used to create the death squad. Are we heading back in that direction? How are all of these unwarranted developments supposed to benefit the PPP/C, only they would know.
What is clear is that the government is prepared to use Carol Sooba as one of its major political footstools of distraction. Sadly, she seems to be enjoying this entire charade.
I do not know who is, in addition to Freedom House and the Local Government Minister, advising Ms. Sooba, but what I do know is that whatever advice is being given is unwise.
There is no decency in hanging on to a public office when the public has in multiple ways rejected you, there is no honour is allowing yourself to be used as a political tool.
Sooba should do the most logical thing and tender her resignation.
What is very unfortunate is that the government has decided to work against enhancing the very tourism atmosphere they like to boast about. How can tourists be attracted to travel to Guyana for vacation when the government has taken a deliberate attempt to launch a despicable assault on the main tourist hub in the country? Where is the Minister of Tourism? Is there no concern on his part for what is happening at the Georgetown City Council?
It is no secret that when people are traveling to Guyana, Georgetown is named as the focal point of attraction. Who wants to travel to a tourist destination where the main attraction is a pile of garbage, mosquitos, and municipal gridlock?
The PPP/C talks of attracting tourists to Guyana, but how can any tourism drive be successful when the regime has taken every step to ruin the capital city. The PPP/C has effectively turned the city into a garbage dump by stifling the city council of much needed funds to effectively execute its garbage disposal programme. This state of affairs has also resulted in severe flooding of the city due to severely clogged drains, and overgrown bushes, a perfect atmosphere for dengue fever and other mosquito-associated illnesses.
Mosquitos have taken over the city like never before. As one person said to me you have to eat with one hand and “clap mosquito” with the other. Le Repentir Cemetery has also become a bacchanal field for execution-style killings and dumping ground for the bodies of murder victims.
Over the last couple of years the regime has decided to block every success of the council by ensuring that its politically appointed town clerk, creates sufficient controversy and chaos in order to stall any improvement in the city. So, there is often constant confrontation between constabulary forces and market vendors and stall holders, face-offs between town clerk and mayor/town clerk and council.
There are petty squabbles such as no register available for councilors to sign in attendance at council meetings, Sooba’s accusation that the Mayor referred to her as an interloper, and that the Mayor did not allow her to say prayers, or acknowledged her, then there is cancellation of statutory meetings, even though councillors are present. Then there were other issues such as the paradoxical court hearings, and the local government minister’s overt intrusion into the affairs of the council.
When will this madness stop? Georgetown belongs to the people of Guyana not Sooba and the PPP/C, time to take a stand.
Lurlene Nestor

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