City Council approves rate reduction for political parties’ properties, despite PPPC’s objection

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 August 2024, 22:55 by Writer

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)-controlled Georgetown City Council has approved the reduction of rates and taxes to a mere 25 percent of the valuated rate, at a time when the cash-strapped municipality could not provide many of its core services, officials said Tuesday.

Several People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) councillors on Tuesday publicly decried the decision, but City Mayor, Alfred Mentore said they were part of the discussions on the issue in a number of committees.

He said political parties that are social welfare-oriented and not-for-profit organisations would be classified as “institutional” and would be given the tax break to help them reduce their operational costs. “All political parties do have to go and beg for money at the end of the year to campaign for this and campaign for that. They don’t have the money as a corporate or any institutional entity to be able to do this,” he said. Asked how the Council would ascertain whether political parties were engaged in social welfare activities, he said the policy defines what is a political party.

The Mayor said the Local Government Minister’s approval was not required and central government does not have the power to scrap that decision. He said PPPC Councillors were engaged in “fleshing out” the issue, in stark contrast to PPPC Councillor, Alfonso De Armas’ claim that “it thoroughly disgusted us when it was sprung completely by surprise towards the end” of Monday’s statutory council meeting. At the level of the Finance Committee, he said the PPPC only has one seat while the others are from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).

PPPC Councillor, Patricia Chase-Green said she and her c0lleagues disagree with the council’s decision because the municipality needs money to deliver services such as waste collection, drain cleaning, and public health inspections. “As members of the PPP Civic, we totally disagree with it. We think all political parties should pay the rates and taxes because we’re asking the ordinary citizens to do so and we’re also complaining everyday that we’re not getting money to do our basic duties in the City,” said Ms Chase-Green—a former councillor and mayor for Good and Green Guyana, and A Partnership for National Unity since 1994—on state-owned TV. She said a new institutional rate could not just be approved through a policy but published in the Official Gazette and that moreso exemptions do not apply to political parties.

PPPC Councillor, Steven Jacobs said the rate reduction raises questions about which political party owes City Council rates and taxes.