Georgetown Mayor, Alfred Mentore today said the City Council is prepared to challenge the Minister of Local Government, Sonia Parag in Court should there be any attempt by her to block the Municipality from waiving the interest on outstanding rates and taxes owed by property owners in the city.

In an interview with News Source today, the City Mayor maintained that the Council has the power to waive interest on outstanding rates and taxes owed by residents of the city in keeping with a policy decision taken to increase its revenue.

“If Mentore as Mayor, along with the other councillors have chosen to put measures and create ways and means of how we do those things, there is no government that should get involved in that. I have already spoken to attorneys, and if this matter has to go to court, it will go to court. The minister did talk about court, we will be going to court, she doesn’t have to worry about taking us to court,” the City Mayor told News Source.

In a letter on March 26, Minister Parag told the City Mayor that the move to adopt a financial regulation that would see the Municipality waiving the interest on outstanding rates and taxes owed by property owners in the city is “unlawful” and “unauthorized.”

Pointing to Section 146 (1) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Minister Parag told the City Mayor, that the law vests the authority to make financial regulations in the Minister of Local Government.

She also noted that she has approached the Office of the Attorney General, and is prepared to take the matter “as far as is necessary.”

“Any attempt to apply or enforce this so-called financial regulation will result in immediate legal action,” the Local Government Minister warned.

The City Mayor said he has also been consulting a battery of lawyers, and the Council stands ready to defend its position in Court.

Defending the decision taken, the Mayor explained that it is intended to increase the Council’s revenue base, while encouraging city residents to pay up the owed rates and taxes while not being burned with the added interests.

It was explained that at present, 45% of property owners in the city are defaulting on their rates and taxes, and the Council is prepared to waive a percentage of the interest generated on the rates and taxes owed.

“To bring it to a point of increasing our inflows, our cash inflows, our revenues, we had to find measures to incentivize the people to pay. Based on the 45% of the people that are not paying taxes, and are not honoring their obligation to the council, we decided that we would have to reach out to them,” he said.

He clarified that the waiver is not on the rates and taxes owed, but rather the interest generated.

According to the Mayor, each situation is unique, and the waiver and the magnitude of it, would be based on the financial challenges confronting defaulter.

“The demand remains the same. Nobody’s demand cannot change. The demand is based on valuating for rating purpose as it speaks to what people should pay. Because you haven’t been paying, the interests adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars. Many of persons, you go to the bank, when people can’t pay their mortgage over time, the bank does give them a discount, the regulator for the bank is the Bank of Guyana but the bank is the authority on giving that [waiver] and you report that information to the Central Bank…Central Government gives discounts and benefits and concessions to the oil people, all those people coming into Guyana, all those investors, and we as a Council with authority to so do, would like to help and assist our having a challenge, and no government should be able to interfere with that process,” the Mayor said. 

The City Mayor said more than 20 property owners have already visited the Council since the decision was taken to settle their accounts.

He said the move could see the Council raking in millions of dollars, thereby allowing it to meet its financial obligations, which includes raising the salaries of its workers in keeping with an agreement signed with their union.

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