Mayor says motion to remove City Engineer justifiable

Jan 07, 2022 News

– Points to years of failure to accomplish scope of works

Kaieteur News – City Mayor, Ubraj Narine has once again expressed frustration at City Engineering Department and blamed the head Colvern Venture for failing to execute his duties.

City Mayor, Ubraj Narine

During a press conference held at City Hall on Wednesday, Mayor Narine delved into some of the issues he said the council has been having with the City Engineer. He noted that while Venture is complaining to the press about the Council’s attempts to remove him from his post, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is justified in its actions. According to the Mayor, Venture has been the subject of numerous complaints reaching his office.
“My office has received numerous complains about Mr. Venture not meeting his obligation… a simple house plan that is supposed to take one day to approve is taking months and sometimes years. I am tired of having to address these things…”, the Mayor said pointing to a pile of files which he says is evidence of the negligible operations of the engineer’s office.
The Mayor also refuted claims made by Venture that a lack of adequate equipment and support from the council have hampered the department from carrying out its duties. “Mr. Venture’s problem is not having the equipment or staffing. It is being a good manager of those under him… So, I cannot see why Mr. Venture would go to the public and say that he couldn’t achieve much in 2021 when he didn’t achieve [anything in] 2019 and 2020.” “If you claim that you are understaffed of building inspectors, the current building inspectors the Engineering Department has, what are they doing? Let him tell us?” …If you leave here now and you go down to stone depot, there’s a brand-new mini excavator Mr. Venture said he needed badly. We bought that new excavator, $14M, it sits in stone depot. When we asked why it is not being utilised, next thing you know, the engineer say to us the trailer bought to move this excavator need some kind of wood. How you put the cart before the horse?
The Mayor claimed too that on countless occasions, he would visit the department to find the workers simply doing nothing productive. “And, if you go right now, you will find the workers playing cards and dominoes! Many times, I turn up there, they doing that. I complained many times, nothing is being done,” the Georgetown Mayor argued.

Head of City Engineer Department, Colvern Venture.

He continued, “The dirty Health Centre on South Road was given a grant by an organisation, I believe is $1.8M to be spent to paint that building. To date we don’t know the status of that building. All I’m aware of is that some windows put on. The money is there, but you have to ask whether the requisition was sent down. We made a decision at the Council to mark the vendor spots, Mr. Venture never objected to marking of the spot. The cheque was prepared twice. The paint was bought. It sits in the stores. Work hasn’t started yet.”
Additionally, the Mayor noted with regard to city abattoir that has been down for the past two years, the department should have ensured the facility was functioning by now but it is nowhere close to achieving that.
Alluding to the motion which is before the Council to terminate the services of Venture for his continuous poor performance over the years, the Mayor said that he has no choice but to hear it. “As chair of the Council it is my duty to hear that motion… I have nothing personal against Mr. Venture. This is an item on the Council’s agenda,” Narine said.
He told this newspaper too that the motion is based on a recommendation to have Venture removed by the Local Government Commission as City Engineer. “ So the council is not acting on its own… it will be forwarding the recommendation to the Local Government Commission for a final decision on Mr Venture’s employment,” he said.

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