With a parade and the inspection of the Guard of Honour, the Georgetown City Council officially kicked off the city’s 184th anniversary on Friday.

On Sunday morning, the celebration will continue with an anniversary service at the St. George’s Cathedral.

The historic milestone is being observed under the theme “Georgetown 184: Rooted In Heritage, Growing Green, Shaping Tomorrow.”

Amid the celebration, the Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore, admitted that 184 years later, the city continues to be plagued with many problems, from the indiscriminate dumping of garbage that is fueling pollution, to clogged drains, poor infrastructure, and limited resources.

Laying the blame at the feet of Central Government, the Mayor told reporters that the Council is unable to effectively execute many of its functions because the municipality of Georgetown continues to be starved of resources.

 The Council gets an increased annual subvention of $50 million to supplement the rates, taxes and revenues it receives, but the Mayor said those funds are insufficient to execute the huge task ahead in an expanding and rapidly growing city.  

“$50 million is what the government gives to us. $50 million is a drop in the ocean for a city as big and as great as ours,” he said.

Citing an example, the Mayor said the Council is responsible for waste collection, but is in need of more garbage trucks. He said while the Government has donated garbage trucks to other municipalities, Georgetown has been left out in the cold.

“We know of the challenges that we have with garbage in the city. We know of the challenges we have in general. We see garbage trucks gone to Berbice, to Region One, Region Two, all the Regions and Region Four where the city happens to be, the Government of Guyana in its own wisdom ain’t choose to send a few garbage trucks here. We ain’t hear nothing about that, but we hear about every other place. You always hearing about the city but what are they doing to assist us in relation to this?” the Mayor said.

Cognizant of the need for added financial resources, Mayor Mentore said the Council intends to take steps to improve its revenue base with greater focus on the collection of its rates and taxes.

The anniversary celebration also comes at a time when the Government has been moving to take control over a number of municipal roads, open spaces and buildings.

In April, the Council moved to the Court to secure an order to have the state vacate the building that once housed the City Constabulary Training Complex on Water Street.

The Council maintains that despite being the owner of the property since the 1800s, the State with the aid of the police, has barred the elected Council from accessing the premises.

The matter remains before the Court. The Mayor said the Council is also preparing to challenge the Government’s seizure and reclassification of more than 57 roads by way of Ministerial orders.  The Government, in justifying its decisions, has accused the City Council of neglecting its duties.

Meanwhile, as the town celebrates its anniversary, the Council remains hopeful that the Government will hand over the restored Georgetown City Hall to the Council soon.

Georgetown officially became a city in 1842.

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