Following a “plethora” of complaints against City Hall by residents, vendors and members of the business community, the Local Government Commission (LGC) has ordered a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and is calling on the public to submit statements.
This newspaper understands that Town Clerk Royston King will be sent on leave to facilitate the process.
“What has occasioned it? We would have received a plethora of complaints; from individuals, organisations, institutions the business community…,” LGC Chairman Mortimer Mingo told Stabroek News, when contacted yesterday. “In keeping with the Local Government Act, the commissioners met, deliberated and we decided that we will hold a CoI,” he added.
Mingo informed that former Chancellor Cecil Kennard has been identified to head the CoI. Mayor Patricia Chase-Green and Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan have been formally notified, although not legally required, of the LGC’s decision.
An advertisement from the commission in the Sunday Stabroek yesterday notified the public of the CoI and invited submission of statements.
“Notice is hereby given to the public for the submission of statements to the Mayor and Councilors of the City of Georgetown Commission of Inquiry (CoI), which was issued, in accordance with Article 78A of the Constitution of Guyana, Sections 13 &14 of the Local Government Commission Act No.18 of 2013 and schedule 8 of the Municipal and District Council Act Chapter 28:01,” the notice states.
“…All submitted statements will become part of the commission’s record. All interested persons, groups or organizations are invited to make submissions,” it added.
Public hearings will begin on September 24th 2018, at the Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue, Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
There has been mounting criticisms about the financial and general management of City Hall with most directed against King and Chase-Green.
“As a property owner, resident and business owner in our capital city, I would like to enquire of the powers that be, when would they relieve the citizens of Georgetown from the oligarchy that exists within the Mayor and Councilors of the City of Georgetown, formerly known as the ‘Fantastic Four’ and now known as the ‘Terrific Trio’,” Mark Roopan wrote in a letter to Stabroek News earlier this year.
“The level of venality, duplicity and mismanagement there is simply unbelievable and it just keeps getting worse and worse. If there is an entity in the country that needs a commission of enquiry it is the Georgetown municipality,” he added.
And only last month, resident Modi Sankar pleaded that a CoI be conducted, against the background of the myriad complaints of the operations of City Hall.
“Over the years, there have been so many scandals, acts of unethical behaviour and outrageous wrongdoings that have either been swept under the carpet or condoned, that most persons have lost count, but how much longer must the citizens of our capital, be subjected to having to pay their property rates, market fees, licence fees, etc, when the Council’s books are not audited and when there is no system at the Council that tracks and controls their income and expenses? If one were to just look at the Georgetown Abattoir, one would have to investigate the stun gun fiasco, where lots of money was spent to purchase captive bolt pistols most of which were not in accordance with what was required, whilst animals were slaughtered in a brutish way,” Sankar wrote.
“Then there is the lack of a scalding barrel or tank for boiling water and other basic equipment needed for the slaughtering operation, all a disgrace. Just a stone’s throw up the road, as they would say, on Water Street, one encounters the City Constabulary Training School, established not so long ago to impart training to the new entrants of the Constabulary, along with other courses, including refresher courses. It now appears abandoned and derelict with a leaky roof, windows and doors missing and littered with a few old beds and other furniture. What a shame! There should be an investigation into how this building fell into such disrepair in such a short period of time,” he added.
The condition of the waterfront area of the Stabroek Market, where the roof keeps collapsing, along with the pier which is in a precarious state, were also highlighted as reasons for investigation.
“What does the Council do with the stall rents it collects from the Stabroek Market stallholders? Spend it on overseas trips? And why is it awaiting the central government to repair it? Is the Stabroek Market and its precincts not the property of the Council?” he had questioned.
City Hall’s dilapidated state is also cause for concern Sankar had said while positing that if it was maintained over the years, it would not be in its current state. He also highlighted other scandals.
“Listening to officials of the City Council one would conclude that the maintenance of that beautiful building was not the responsibility of the Council and that they woke up one morning like Rip Van Winkle to find the building in that state. It is mind-boggling that they would be waiting for foreign missions, central government, foreign aid agencies and the local business sector to fund the repairs of their headquarters. If the City Council had been performing routine maintenance on the building each year for the last 25 years as they should have doing, then the building would have been in a pristine state, and the whopping US$4.3 million bill currently being touted would have been less than half. As they say, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’,” he said.
“There are the scandals about the Bel Air Park playfield and the Farnum Ground, the authorized new building going up where the Kitty Abattoir once stood, the beauticians who were dumped on Merriman’s Mall, the purported Presidential Park, the inordinate delays in the construction of the Kitty Market, the robberies in the municipal markets, the disappearance of firearms and the brutalization of juveniles and other citizens by the City Constabulary, debts to GRA, NIS, GPL, GTT and the credit unions, etc, the feather bedding at the Council and the lack of an audit of the Council’s financial systems for decades and so much more,” he had added.
If persons need clarity on the requirements or want to send in their statements, they can call, email or visit the Commission from September 17th 2018, between Monday to Friday and during the hours 8am to 4:30pm. The telephone number is (592)687-9341 while the email address is mccgtcoi@yahoo.com. All submitted statements will become part of the Commission’s record.
The Local Government Commission today issued the following statement.
Appointment of Commission of Inquiry on Mayor & Councillors of the City of Georgetown
Consequent on the receipt of several complaints on the administration and operations of the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown (M.& C.C.), the Local Government Commission has constituted a Commission of Inquiry (C.O.I) that will examine, advise and report on any or all irregularities that may exist within this local government body.
Several of the complaints that have occasioned this step include a reported failure of the City Council to remit workers National Insurance Scheme contributions, failure to remit to the Credit Union contributions deducted from workers’ salaries and issues surrounding the award of contracts in keeping with financial regulations, transparency and accountability among others.
Over the course of several months the newly established Local Government Commission has deliberated on the complaints received on the administration and operations of the M. & C.C., and a unanimous decision was taken at the Commission’s 17th Statutory meeting held on Tuesday April 17th, 2018 to have this matter thoroughly examined by way of the establishment of a C.O.I. A decision was also taken by the Commission at its meeting on June 21st, 2018 to have the Town Clerk sent on administrative leave.
Accordingly, Mr. Royston King, Town Clerk of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown has been instructed to proceed on administrative leave with effect from Friday September 21st, 2018 pending the examination and determination of all the issues under Inquiry.
The Terms of Reference of the Commission includes a mandate to:
1. Investigate the administration and operations of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown;
2. The reason for and the process by which a motion of no confidence on the Town Clerk was dealt with by the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown; and
3. Generally, to investigate any matter that may be brought to the attention of the Commissioner during the Inquiry that would adversely affect the administration and operation of the Municipality of Georgetown.
Constituted by the Local Government Commission, the Commission by its Terms of Reference extends from September 24th, to October 31st, 2018 and will operate under the provisions of the Constitution of Guyana, the Local Government Commission Act 2013, and the Municipal and District Councils Act Cap. 28:01 of the Laws of Guyana.
Retired Chancellor Justice Cecil Kennard C.C.H., O.R., has been appointed Chairman and sole Commissioner of the C.O.I. and will conduct formal hearings for witnesses, complainants and other interested parties at the Critchlow Labour College, situated at Woolford Avenue, Thomas Lands, Georgetown from Monday September 24th, 2018.
Members of the public who may wish to engage the Commission of Inquiry are advised to do so via email: mccgtcoi@yahoo.com or on telephone number: (592)-687- 9341. You may also engage the Legal Clerk/Secretary of the COI at Critchlow Labour College from Monday September 17th to Friday September 21st, inclusive, during the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily. All persons with information that may aid the work of the Commission of Inquiry or who may have complaints against the M. & C.C. are encouraged to visit the office established for this purpose to have same addressed.
