Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 08, 2014 News
Town Clerk (ag) Carol Sooba was yesterday morning ordered by the Supreme Court to return gas to the vehicle
assigned to the Mayor’s office. Chief Justice (ag) Ian Change in his ruling found that the Mayor, Hamilton Green, has a legitimate expectation that fuel would be provided for the vehicles assigned to his office, so that he could carry out his function as Chief Citizen of Georgetown.
The court matter came when Mayor Green approached the Court since Sooba refused to provide gas and other necessities such as stationery to the Mayor’s quarters.
In June, Attorney Leslie Sobers filed court documents against Sooba and Council Treasurer, Ron Mc Calmon. They were mandated to go before the Courts to provide reason why they were denying the Mayor’s office of fuel and office supplies.
The Mayor disclosed that it was the custom of the Council’s Treasurer over the past 30 years to provide the office with a vehicle for the performance of official duties and also to provide the necessary fuel. The present Town Clerk and Treasurer, he contended, are expected to follow the said procedure.
In April, the Court was told, the Treasurer, without the authority of the Council, restricted the amount of fuel issued for the vehicle assigned to the Mayor. Correspondences were sent to the Town Clerk requesting an explanation of the matter. The Mayor told the court that the response from the Town Clerk was, “simply affixed to the requisition for fuel with the following remarks: ‘Return to sender…the Mayor of Georgetown publicly declared I am an interloper… interloper cannot issue gas.’”
The Mayor’s office was also being denied ink for the printer, adequate stationery and daily newspapers among other things.
While there had not been a definite decision on stationery for the Mayor’s office, the court did return the Mayor’s fuel, saying that it was being issued for years and that there is a legitimate expectation that it would continue. It was also explained that there is no explanation for Sooba abruptly denying the Mayor fuel.
Another court order will see the acting Town Clerk having to pay dismissed Council workers overdue funds within five days or face legal penalty. The Council is expected to make a multi-million-dollar pay out after staffers dismissed by the Ministry of Local Government in 2012 approached the court for cash owed.
Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, who is holding the Mayor’s office in his absence, told media workers that in 2012 at least four staffers were fired by the Minister following a probe of the agency by government consultant Ramon Gaskin. She said at several Council meetings, it was agreed and according to the Minister’s letter, that those officers should have been paid all money owed.
These officers are former Town Clerk Yonette Pluck-Cort, City Treasurer Andrew Meredith, Solid Waste Manager Hubert Urling and City Engineer Gregory Erskine. However the officers, some of whom have close to 15 years of service, were not paid by the current Town Clerk.
The Deputy Mayor said Urling took the matter to the High Court. A lawyer’s letter was sent to the Council last week informing them that the termination of Urling’s service by the Minister was quashed and money owed to him must be paid off in five days.
The Deputy Mayor said, “Now we (Council) are saddled with a court order to pay this money in a certain time… Money that was not budgeted for in the 2014 budget we now have to find because she (Sooba) decided that she was not going to pay the officers.”
The Deputy Mayor said even though it is one staffer that has gone to the Court, the Council will have to find the money to pay off all the dismissed staff, “and it is estimated to be a substantial sum.” She said that such defiance on the part of the Town Clerk has brought further instability to the Council.
“On a scale of one to ten, the Council has achieved minus one,” she opined.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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