Dear Editor,
Please refer to a letter which appeared in your Stabroek News issue of Monday, January 27, headlined ‘Sooba should not be addressed as “Acting Town Clerk,”’ signed by Minister Norman Whittaker. I have to say that I am disappointed but not surprised by the contents of his letter.
In his first paragraph, the Minister stated that, “The action of the Deputy Mayor of the Georgetown City Council in addressing the Town Clerk of the City Council as Acting Town Clerk could at best be described as an act of disdain and disrespect on the part of the Deputy Mayor.”
I am not sure how the Minister got involved in this matter in the first place. The council is capable of managing its own affairs. There are rules and policies which guide our approaches to issues and events in the city council. But it is this kind of interference by the Minister of Local Government in the workings of council, which continues to inhibit the council from effectively carrying out its mandate to the citizens of Georgetown.
The Ministers of Local Government and Regional Development have repeatedly refused to meet with this democratically elected council to discuss any issue about the city.
Yet Mr Whittaker has rushed to the defence of the unqualified individual he has imposed on this council and then speaks of disdain and disrespect.
The truth is, it is the Minister who has disrespected this democratically elected Mayor and City Council by appointing an unqualified individual to the position of Town Clerk. When the council objected to Ms Sooba acting as Town Clerk, the Minister, Mr Ganga Persuad said that there was no need for qualifications to act as Town Clerk (a position we totally disagreed with). However, that comment implied that for one to be appointed to the position of Town Clerk one must possess the appropriate qualifications.
I am aware that Ms Sooba has been attending the University of Guyana since 1998 to pursue studies, and she has not been able to graduate. She does not have a certified tertiary education. The Minister of Local Government and Regional Development has not been able to state Ms Sooba’s qualifications. Council is embarrassed by her very low level of education and training, and her poor human relations skills. This is unlike the staff she manages who are more qualified than she is in different fields.
Still, the Minister proceeded to whimsically appoint this lady in the face of stern objections from this democratically elected council and against the recommendation of a properly appointed interviewing panel, with specific terms of reference. That panel consisted of qualified and competent individuals from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Public Service Ministry, the Georgetown Municipality and the Guyana Local Government Officers Union.
If Ms Sooba was already qualified for the position then why did the ministry go to the trouble of advertising, receiving applications and appointing an interview panel with specific terms of reference to fill the vacancy of Town Clerk of the Georgetown municipality? The answer is clear. She is not qualified for the position of Town Clerk. Prior to that interview, the Minister of Local Government, Mr Norman Whittaker had said that she was not qualified. He said that the position had to be re-advertised.
Therefore, her appointment constitutes an assault on the integrity of the distinguished members of the panel and well-established standards and principles used by the Mayor and City Council to recruit, select and appoint its officers.
Shortly after her appointment by the Minister, on a TVG/28 newscast, Ms Sooba questioned the competence of the members of the panel to interview her. Imagine, someone who did not even present her birth certificate to an interviewing panel questioning the competencies of the members of that panel? Worse, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr Colin Croal chaired the panel.
But this is the kind of crassness and disrespect the Minister is encouraging, not only at the city council but also against senior officers of the government. Make no mistake, this insolence on the part of the Town Clerk will not be tolerated by this council.
Clearly then, it is the Minister of Local Government who has shown gross disrespect and disdain for this democratically elected council and all the citizens of Georgetown by appointing someone who does not have the attitude and aptitude to sit in the office of Town Clerk. That appointment has undermined all the organizational standards and policies we have worked so hard to establish at the council. It has left employees demoralized and disappointed in an organization they have trusted to be even-handed and just in its dealing with its employees.
Interestingly, the Minister has not commented on the inappropriate action of Ms Sooba with respect to council’s money. About three weeks ago, Ms Sooba without the knowledge or permission of the council took half a million dollars from the city treasury and engaged the service of an attorney-at–law to represent her in a matter.
A copy of a letter pointing out this misappropriation of council’s funds was dispatched to the Minister. By that act, Ms Sooba breached all the financial procedures of the council but, unsurprisingly, the Minister did not consider that action of sufficient seriousness to pen a letter to Ms Sooba or the council, or even the press on this illegality by a person he has imposed on this council. That money should have been paid from Ms Sooba’s personal account.
The Minister is ready to bash me (Deputy Mayor) for referring to the Town Clerk as ‘Acting,’ but ignores the misconduct of Ms Sooba. He is prepared to publicly represent the personal interest of Ms Sooba but sacrifices good governance and effective management of the city of Georgetown. This is causing vital systems at the municipality to collapse and put at risk the heath of all Guyanese.
Again, the Minister has not commented on the usurpation of council’s authority by Ms Sooba to terminate the contract of Cevons Waste Management and later hire the service of Puran Bros to clear garbage from the same areas without the permission of the council.
The Minister did nothing about the two no confidence motions and numerous letters sent to him by this council against the extremely poor performance of Ms Sooba, but he talks about respect.
In the fifth paragraph of his letter the Minister states: “Presently, the council does not have a plan or a budget to guide its activities during 2014.”
The Minister is right, but he must take full blame for the state of affairs of the council. At the last statutory meeting of January 13, 2014, at which the budget should have been debated and approved, Ms Sooba walked out of a duly constituted statutory meeting because she was called ‘Acting Town Clerk.’ On January 3, 8, and 9, 2014, Ms Sooba sent correspondence to me on which she signed Town Clerk (ag). The point here is that Ms Sooba referred to herself as Acting Town Clerk. Apparently she is not sure of her position or by what she should be called. The thing is whether she is called Town Clerk or Town Clerk (ag), it does not take away from the fact that she is heading the administration of council at this point in time.
Even so, the Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01 refers to the Town Clerk as ‘the Clerk’, ‘Chief Administrator’ and the ‘Secretary to the Council’. If she had a difficulty with my calling her Acting Town Clerk then she could have had it recorded in the minutes of that meeting. Indeed, that very law states that if the council refuses to take the advice of the Town Clerk, he/she can have it recorded. No need for any display of arrogance as was done by Ms Sooba. Again, this is testimony that Ms Sooba is incapable of understanding her role at the council, and that she lacks the profound awareness of the urgent needs of the council and citizens But how could the Minister suggest in his letter that Ms Sooba cannot be faulted for failing to respond to the chairperson of a duly constituted statutory meeting? Is he encouraging lawlessness at the Georgetown municipality?
Elsewhere, I have advised that it will take more than titles or names to restore and develop Georgetown; it demands competencies and high performance.
We are worried that the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development who should be the gatekeeper of high standards is, in fact, superintending the destruction of even the basic protocols established by successive councils, to ensure the effective and efficient provision of municipal services to citizens. The public must know that according to Chapter 28:01 the Minister does not have the right to deal with the day-to-day management of the council. The council is duly elected. It has the authority to deal with daily affairs. The law stipulates which matters require the intervention of the Minister. It is worrying that the Minister, in my opinion, is not aware of his duties.
Ms Sooba continues to show total disrespect to the duly elected councillors and the members of the public. It is most alarming that the Minister would want to suggest that addressing Ms Sooba as Town Clerk (ag) and she walking out when the mace, a symbol of authority, is in place was correct. This is most unfortunate, and as the saying goes is reflective of ‘a square peg in a round hole.’
My advice to the Minister is this: He is paid a salary and should take the time to acquaint himself with the laws that govern the municipality and allow the democratically elected councilors to perform their duties. I sympathize with the government for having the Minister waste taxpayers’ money.
The struggle for the council to restore the Garden City to its former glory continues, and may we be granted the knowledge, wisdom and understanding to reverse the negative economic and environmental trends afflicting our city.
Yours faithfully,
Patricia Chase-Green
Deputy Mayor of Georgetown
Mayor and City Council