Sooba announces campaign to root out corruption at City Hall

By Michael Younge –

Acting Georgetown Town Clerk Carol Sooba has declared that she will not carry out any decision made by the mayor and city councillors of Georgetown that she considers contrary to the laws governing the work and mandate of the municipality.
Sooba made the declaration as she announced her “zero-tolerance campaign” aimed at rooting out corruption at City Hall.
“I would not at any time allow myself to be put in a position where decisions that are made are ultra vires to what is supposed to be. No such decision will be executed because I will be in breach of the relevant laws,” Sooba asserted during an interview on the Current Issues and Analysis programme aired on Television Guyana/Channel 28.

She noted that she will not give into political pressure from the councillors to engage in any action which may be below board, simply because it was the decision of a statutory meeting of the council, as was asked of her on previous occasions.
Sooba declared that since her appointment, it has become clear that many of the councillors do not understand their core roles and responsibilities, which are pointed out in the relevant legislation.
Sooba told Guyana Times International that the only option she has when such decisions are made is, by the authority vested in her, to advise the council when it “goes down that road”.
Sooba further explained that she would usually have her advice recorded in the minutes of the meetings, so that she would have executed her duties accordingly.
She added that there are cases when some decisions are not implementable, but maintained that policy decisions must be made based on the laws governing the municipality.
The acting town clerk noted too that the mayor is in charge of the councillors, who in turn have a mandate that is separate from the town clerk and her administration.
“The two happen to function in collaboration; the mayor and councillors are responsible for the policy positions. The policies that the mayor and council make, must at all times be in sync with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations,” said Sooba. “As per the Municipal and District Councillors’ Act, Chapter 28:01, or the Local Government Act, or any of the relevant legislation, sometimes some of the policies  articulated by councillors do not comply with the by-laws of the municipality,” she noted during the interview.
Sooba pointed out that she was forced to assert her authority because of the continued attacks being made on her office in the media by councillors who are no longer managing to control the administration of the council, by making spurious and outright legislatively wrong decisions.