An ongoing feud at City Hall over who should perform the functions of Town Clerk could result in the delay of salaries to workers and affect other services.
Mayor Ubraj Narine has refused to recognise Candace Nelson as the Town Clerk and legal proceedings have been filed.
A statement from Town Clerk (ag) Nelson follows:
The administration of the Georgetown City Council wishes to notify the public that, over the next few days, the provision of certain essentials municipal services, to local communities, may be disrupted. This is as a direct result of an anticipated delay in payment of wages and salaries to the Council’s employees.
On her appointment to the position of Acting Town Clerk, by the Local Government Commission, Ms. Candace Nelson wrote the Republic Bank (the institution where the Council has its accounts) and notified its management of those changes. In that letter, the Town Clerk requested the necessary and corresponding changes to the signatures of the Council’s accounts.
Subsequently, administration was informed, informally, that, the Mayor, Mr. Ubraj Narine wrote the bank (Republic Bank) and attempted to instruct its management to retain the old signatures of Ms. Sherry Jerrick, who has been reverted to her substantive position as Assistant Town Clerk, and Mr. John Douglas, City Treasurer (ag) who is on vacation leave, to the accounts.
Again, this is unprecedented as it is the administration that has the statutory responsibility to communicate with the bank and related institutions. Neither the Mayor nor any Councillor is a signatory to the accounts of the City Council. The Act, Chap 28:01, does not confer on the Mayor as an individual the authority to write and instruct the bank or any institution for that matter.
However, it does appear that the letter, by the Mayor, caused the bank to sustain the old signatories to the accounts. As a result, to date, new and necessary changes are not reflected in the Council’s accounts. Consequently, administration cannot move forward with the pay roll within the agreed time to pay workers of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown. This would cause a delay in payment of workers salaries. This would affect workers ability to performance their tasks and disrupt systems to provide services to citizens.
That, notwithstanding, the Town Clerk (ag) has informed the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development and the Chairman of the Local Government Commission. Administration is aware that steps are been taken by the Ministry and Commission to resolve this issue in the shortest possible time.
Also, the Town Clerk has also written to the unions, that represent workers and officers of the City Council, (the Guyana Labour Union and the Guyana Local Government Officers Union) on the matter. The Chief Administrative Officer has informed all heads/sectional heads of departments about this pressing issue and asked them to communicate the facts of the matter to workers attached to their departments.
Town Clerk (ag)
Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown
