As more councillors voiced their displeasure with the appointment of Yonette Pluck-Cort as substantive Town Clerk, Mayor Hamilton Green expressed his disappointment that the councillors were not instead devoting their energies towards the management of the city.
At a press conference yesterday, councillors Llewellyn John, Patricia Chase-Green, Ranwell Jordan, Gwen McGowan, and Deputy Mayor Robert Williams registered their concern over Pluck-Cort’s appointment.
On Thursday, Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall appointed Pluck-Cort substantive Town Clerk, in the hope of bringing to an end disagreement by councillors over her filling the post.
“It is our opinion that while the minister has the right to appoint, he equally has a duty to evaluate the recommendations of the municipality in the context of the process and procedure which has been undertaken by the council,” Williams said.
McGowan called the move by the minister dictatorial. Chase-Green stated, “This is the first time in the history of the municipality that a ministerial order was used to impose a staff on the organisational structure of the Mayor and City Council.
“If he did not like Mr Royston King for whatever reason he should have written to the council and said I do not approve, but to impose his staff on the council…”
Jordan said that the appointment has only made things worse rather than bringing an end to the filling of the vacancy. And John hinted that the councillors may explore legal avenues to challenge the appointment.
“It gives us great concern that the minister is going to usurp the functions of the council and we will go to the end with it. He may have the right under the law but is he using the law in the right way?” Chase-Green asked.
As far as councillors are concerned, Pluck-Cort is not qualified for the post since she was named in the Burrowes Inquiry recommendation as one of the persons who should not be appointed. They also noted that she did not attend an arranged interview after she applied for the post.
Meanwhile, Mayor Green in an invited comment stated, “My concern is that we seem to be devoting a lot of energy to matters which will not help citizens of Georgetown and I thought that this time we should be devoting [our] energies towards a very difficult situation, the management of Georgetown.”
Fallout over who should fill the vacant post of Town Clerk began when the councillors recommended Public Relations Officer Royston King for the post. King was one of several persons who applied for the post and he gained the most points after interviews.
Later, a motion was moved to have him perform the functions of Town Clerk pending his appointment by the minister and Pluck-Cort reverted to her substantive post of Deputy Town Clerk. This motion was subsequently declared null and void by the minister.
On Monday, councillors heatedly debated the interpretation of an Order of Prohibition brought against Pluck-Cort. The order was issued by Justice Diane Insanally who had granted an Order Nisi on April 7 asking Pluck-Cort “to show cause why [she] should not be prohibited from acting as and/or exercising the powers of the office of the Town Clerk”.
Investigations
Chase-Green revealed yesterday that the Town Clerk’s office is under investigation by the Auditor General’s Office. The request for an investigation into the Town Clerk’s office was made by Councillor Junior Garrett. According to Chase-Green, “It is alleged and we have some evidence where a cheque for some $1.4 million was signed by the deputy Town Clerk when the required signatures on the vouchers were not there.” There is also the issue of ‘Old Smokey,’ the old incinerator, which was sold, Chase-Green said, without the council’s permission.
Meanwhile, Lall had announced at his last press conference that the Auditor General had recently concluded an investigation into the Public Relations Department, which is headed by King. The investigation was requested by the Mayor.
Discrepancy in the cost of purchasing a camera led to the request for the investigation this newspaper learnt.
Yesterday Mayor Green said he had made the request some time last year and declined to comment further on the matter.
He said he would like to first consult with the minister on the recommendations of the Auditor General. The report on that investigation is expected to be on the agenda at the next statutory meeting of the Mayor and City Council.
