By Michael Benjamin The banging of bins preceded by a raucous voice on a bullhorn rudely interrupted my sleep yesterday morning. Thirty seconds later,[url=http://www.2017draftshop@#$%&/adoree-jackson/]Adoree Jackson Authentic Jersey[/url], after I had successfully managed to focus,[url=http://www.salecheapjerseys.us@#$%&/]NFL Cheap Jerseys[/url], I was able to ascertain the source of the noise. A group of young men was passing through my area in a Canter truck offering to discard my rubbish for a fee of $400 per receptacle.Really, after paying my rates and taxes, I would have thought that it was the duty of the Mayor and City Council to dispose of my rubbish. Furthermore,[url=http://www.wholesalejerseyssale.us@#$%&/]China Jerseys[/url], my house overlooks the Mandela Dumpsite, which really should be rechristened ?the Mandela/Cemetery Road Dumpsite, since activities have long been extended to Cemetery Road.These youths have seized the opportunity to make a decent living in the absence of the established garbage collectors.My bin, last emptied approximately one week prior, was filled and overflowing to the extent that I had to put the excess rubbish in a basin, which was placed at the side of the rubbish bin. My neighbours fared no better. In almost all of the yards in my village, moulds of garbage waited for an amicable solution between City Hall and its contractors, to be carted off to the dumpsite.Alas, a resolution to the brouhaha seems some distance away so I have reluctantly resigned myself to my fate. Upon hearing the sound of the horn, I rushed out, money in hand to pay for the unconventional service. The ?sanitary? men charged an extra bit to empty all additional receptacles.This has been the order for some time now, ever since solid waste contractors,[url=http://www.cheapnfljerseysmr.us@#$%&/]NFL Jerseys Supply[/url], Cevon?s Waste Management and several others had withdrawn their services due to non payment by City Hall. Recently, there has been an outbreak of the flu. Almost everyone is becoming constricted with this pestilence and one of my colleagues at the University of Guyana told me that she was constricted four times. While there has been no empirical evidence to suggest a correlation between this outbreak and the huge piles of rubbish that decorate the ?Garden City?, many have opined that a certain Minister might have got his wish after all.It really bothers me that I am being forced to pay twice for one service. City Hall demands its pound of flesh in rates and taxes and mete out appropriate measures if it is not paid, yet many residents are forced to pay makeshift garbage collectors to empty their refuse or face a major epidemic in the city. I am seriously contemplating moving to the courts for a refund.Amidst it all,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticonline.us@#$%&/]Jerseys China Wholesale[/url], vitriolic exchanges between the City Hall officials and the Government take precedence over constructive dialogue. They say that it?s a sad day for the ants when the elephants are at war. The poor creatures are inadvertently crushed to death by stampeding hoofs through no fault of theirs.Garbage collection is not the only area where citizens are browbeaten into paying twice for the same service. Several days ago, realising that I was late for a management lecture at the University of Guyana,[url=http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap NFL Jerseys[/url], I decided to take a shortcut into Guyhoc Park and across the Lamaha Canal. I was a bit late and this street would have taken me through B Field Sophia, right up to Dennis Street, a mere stone?s throw from the University of Guyana. More importantly, the route was devoid of the heavy congestion of traffic that would have otherwise impeded my progress to the tertiary institution.I was halfway across the bridge that joins Lamaha Springs and the Sophia community when a young man stepped in front of my car with a large cardboard box in his hands and demanded that I ?leave a lil top up? before I crossed the bridge. The man explained to me that the bridge had been in a decrepit state and that some residents of the Sophia community had pooled their resources to make the structure passable. In return for such service, the residents were demanding that all vehicles traversing the bridge ?leave a lil tap up.? I felt that a ?towel? would have been too large for such an insignificant shower, so I reached into my pockets and reluctantly parted with a ?rag? (five hundred dollars).Earlier in the month, as I traversed a city street, a group of young men stood by a gaping pothole and waved me to a halt. Each member held a tool of some sort and appeared to be repairing a huge crater on the road. One of them held a cardboard box, which he thrust in my direction, requesting ?a lil top up? for the service that they were performing. I am no longer certain whether road construction lies in the purview of City Hall or the Government but I am absolutely sure that I do not have to dole out ?top ups? to any group that arbitrarily decides to effect such repairs. Within 24 hours another experience of a similar nature, this time on a city street, really brought my temper to the boil and I inadvertently erupted into a bout of expletives and sailor?s jargon that would have made my pastor flinch.Mind you, I have not yet mentioned the groups that could be found at almost every major road or traffic light soliciting funds for this project or that organisation. I have not mentioned having to purchase pure artesian well water because the liquid that flows through my tap looks so frightening that I am scared of even pouring, much less drinking the stuff.Yet amidst these atrocities, we are being beseeched to pay up our taxes and only recently I have heard an official lamenting the meager taxes that citizens pay for crucial services. I sometimes wonder if higher taxes would prompt qualitative services or if withholding these taxes would forcefully drive home the message to our decision makers that we as consumers have had it up to here.Someone recently said to me that the West Indies cricketers have lost so many matches that they have forgotten how to win. Juxtapose that thought to Guyanese and you will admit that we have been offered such mediocre and substandard services that we have simply forgotten what quality is all about.I have traveled to countries in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and Europe among others and have observed the quality of services in these countries. I have spent a few months in England,[url=http://www.nfljerseyschinaauthentic.us/]Wholesale Jerseys From China[/url], a smaller country than Guyana and have seen real development. I have lived in Cabbagetown, one of the Ghetto areas in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and I have had clear potable water running through my taps. I have never seen citizens on the streets mending potholes and requesting ?top ups? for their services. I guess if that happens the government of those countries would jump in with both feet. But to do so those governments (or governing bodies) would first have to ensure that they fulfill their respective mandates.Apparently, our decision makers are yet to understand or implement such systems. Instead of constructive action, we witness blame shifting and vitriolic exchanges. In the meantime, the citizens are suffering. It is now time that someone take the bull by the horns and take a proactive stance. Until this happens, Guyanese would have to continue doling out ?top ups? for crucial services.