Town Clerk denies owning $30M property

Embattled Town Clerk Royston King has denied reports that he acquired a $30M property at Lot 47 Happy Acres, East Coast Demerara, (ECD).

“I do not own the property,” he said in an interview with the News Room.

The Town Clerk was sent on leave pending a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into mismanagement of funds at City Hall.

He told the News Room that an article which appeared in the October 07, 2018 edition of the Kaieteur News titled “Town Clerk purchases $30M property at Happy Acres” is “inaccurate and misleading and most of all, it is libelous.”

King said he is in contact with his lawyers on the matter but refuse to disclose whether he has anything to do with the property cited.

“That is all I would say at this point in time.

“I won’t want to give any more information on this matter,” he said to the News Room.

King also refused to comment on allegations of mismanagement of the City’s funds, noting that the matters are before the CoI convened by the Local Government Commission (LGC).

Further questioned about his cooperation with the CoI, King noted that he has not been asked to appear in front of the Commission.

Among allegations against the Town Clerk is the bypassing of procurement rules to hand out contracts to friends and family, failure to get Council’s approval before projects move forward and abusing his authority. (Bibi Khatoon)