Confusion reigned at the Mayor and City Council on Tuesday when Acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba locked the Council’s chambers, denying Mayor Hamilton Green and councillors entry. However, the Council persisted in their efforts to hold an extraordinary meeting and retreated to the compound during which they voted to instal Royston King as the Acting Town Clerk.
The installation of King came about through one of three motions which were successfully tabled and passed by the Opposition-dominated Council headed by Green, a former Prime Minister under the People’s National Congress Administration. Sitting under the hot afternoon sun in the compound of the City Hall, the 13 councillors present voted unanimously in favour of the motion tabled by Councillor Gregory Fraser and seconded by Councillor Eon Andrews to send Sooba packing and to have the Council’s Public Relations Officer Royston King appointed to act in that capacity.
The motion stated that Sooba was unlawfully and unjustly appointed by a Minister who had no power or authority to do such. The motion also deemed Sooba as being incapable of executing the responsibilities required of the Chief Executive Officer of the Council, alleging that on numerous occasions she refused to summon meetings of staff to discuss any Council-related matters and she has shown racial bias in the execution of her duties as Town Clerk.
The councillors said too in the motion that Sooba had been imposed on the City Council by the Minister and the time has come for the Council to stand up for its rights. They said that she has become a liability and burden on the city and the residents of Georgetown as well as the members of the Council would like to see her go.
Garrett under the gun
The second motion which was tabled and passed sought to have the sale of the Easter vending spots deemed illegal and all the monies collected from individuals for use of space on the sea wall returned as soon as possible. The motion further sought to have the Council ascertain the names and positions of the officers who were involved in the activity and for them to be disciplined accordingly. It was unanimously supported with all of the 13 councillors voting in favour.
The third motion, which was moved by Councillor Gregory Fraser, sought to have the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Junior Garrett immediately relieved of his duties and removed from his position for: the making of “unilateral” and “capricious” decisions and the signing off of payments without the Council’s permission; the presentation of an inappropriate letter riddled with grammatical errors; his inability to encourage Republic Bank to release money to be returned to the Japanese Government; the presentation of a forged financial document as the budget of the Council this year and the spending of the Council’s monies without consultation or authority, to strategically inhibit the ability of the Council to address the needs of the city. The motion was seconded by Councillor Eon Andrews and was supported by every member of the council who was present at the meeting.
Aggressive fight
Mayor Green related that the decisions of the councillors through the passage of the motions will be forwarded to the relevant authorities with the hope that they would be sanctioned. He noted that through every decision taken by the Minister, the Council remained quiet, but that will no longer be the case as the decisions made are a reflection of the Council’s thoughts and it will fight aggressively to see that they become a reality.
The Council’s motion against Sooba stemmed from the recent ruling of Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang deeming the appointment of the Town Clerk illegal, since the Local Government Minister does not have the power to appoint her. The court, however, ruled that the Minister can appoint Sooba to act in the position. The decision had come about after King had moved to the High Court last December, challenging the appointment of Sooba, contending that she was deemed the least qualified of several candidates who had applied for the post. King was one of the four applicants for the post. He was represented by Attorney Nigel Hughes.
