The Local Government System has failed the people

Feb 10, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
It’s almost a year since some citizens decided to go to the polls for the much anticipated LGE. There was obvious hope amongst the citizens and candidates alike but after one year of failed initiatives (the Kitty Market for example) and increased taxes, the city is crying for help. The citizens are plagued by yet another imposition, the parking meter fiasco.
The city council led by their ‘king’ decided that they needed to get rid of the ‘lawlessness and congestion’ in the city by imposing a whopping $32,000 extra fee per month on the normal working class citizen. Somebody somewhere must have done the maths, somebody somewhere must have told these custodians that such an imposition would only cause more hardship and pain.
Moreover, it’s almost one year since we sought to bring about fresh ideas, fresh faces and fresh management to the city and lost in our plight. The problem is not that we failed to mobilise and convince the citizens but the disappointment they have had to face because of their choices. There is a new breeze that is blowing in Guyana that somehow, the only way to achieve economic growth is to tax citizens to death; the notion of innovative investments, public private partnerships to create employment and finances, all seem dead in the minds of these decision makers.
The elaborate increases of fees and taxes without any phased implementation plan are also disquieting. This seems to be the trend of politics and decision makers for Guyana today; the local government system is no different. It’s almost been a year since we went up against the goliaths. In the end, the Goliaths won, but instead of the glory promised, the citizen can barely breathe, garbage collectors are still threatening strikes, children still can’t have proper parks to play in whilst the underprivileged continues to suffer. There is a huge disconnect between the leaders and the people. There is no trust, no coordination and no cooperation.
The councillors of the constituencies have vanished into thin air barring one or two. Security, flooding, unemployment, infrastructure (to name a few) are worse off than they were one year ago. There have been no serious steps taken to revise zoning laws, fix roads and drainage in most communities (I can go on all day). South Georgetown continues to be plagued by crime, poverty and disaster and yet, decision makers seem obsessed with taxation parking meters. There must be another way, there has to be. If this trend continues, the entire social fabric of many communities may collapse; the question is, whether the kings and queens are concerned. The disposal income of the common man has already been depleted due to taxation, paying $32, 000 extra per month will only make it worst.
Kelvin Bovell
Team Legacy

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