‘Town Clerk shows a total disregard for law’ – No-confidence motion filed

Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillors, Sherod Duncan and Deputy Mayor, Lionel Jaikarran on Monday afternoon filed a no-confidence motion against Town Clerk, Royston King on the grounds that several decisions were made by him without the council’s approval and in most cases, forced the intervention of Central Government.

The motion, which consists of 21 ‘Whereas’ clause, will be included in the next statutory agenda of the council.

“[AND WHEREAS] Town Clerk Royston King has acted outside the interests of the citizens of Georgetown and has shown a total disregard for the Municipal and Districts Councils Act 28:01 which adumbrates the role of the Town Clerk and Council,” the motion reads.

The document also alluded to the removal of the vendors from the Stabroek Market and Robb Street environs in 2016/2017, the “lease” of numerous billboards and spaces said billboards occupied, the lease of playgrounds, the signing of the infamous parking meter contract and the implementation of a container fee, all without the council’s approval.

These matters, the motion pointed out, brought some form of discomfort to stakeholders and caused Central Government to intervene.

The ninth ‘Whereas’ clause in the motion pointed to the council’s failure to properly account for $300M given by Central Government for the Georgetown Restoration Programme as outlined in the Auditor General’s report of 2016/2017.

Other issues raised included the failure of the Town Clerk to provide information requested by Councillors, the “wanton abuse” of the ‘Emergency Clause’ under the law governing the entity to abandon the tendering process and spend millions of dollars.

One such contract which raised concerns is the selection of Chung’s Global to complete works at the Le Repentir Cemetery to the tune of $125M.

The late payment of salaries, large amounts of money owed to companies and individuals for goods and services provided to the Municipality and the inaccurate reporting of the finance of the council, along with the Town Clerk’s practice of unilaterally deciding whether the Deputy Mayor or Councillor can perform the functions of Mayor when the Mayor is out of the jurisdiction and the firing of two officers of the City Constabulary in the recent rape case were all outlined in the motion.

“The Town Clerk’s careless and reckless actions, though often guided otherwise by Council, when considered together are calculated to have caused irreparable damage to the image and goodwill of City Hall and the Coalition Government at Local Government before the residents of the municipality, among other considerations,” the motion concluded.

Since the revelation that the motion will be tabled, the Town Clerk, the Chief Administrative Officer of the council has made several moves to defend himself in the public. Two such measures include a letter in the local newspapers in which he accused Councillor Duncan and Councillor Andrea Marks of launching a personal attack against him, and the introduction of a Public Relations page on facebook to improve King’s image.