Carol Sooba attends transition meeting with Mayor Hamilton Green

Last Updated on Monday, 18 May 2015, 15:02 by GxMedia

by Zena Henry

The transition process from the old Administration into the new has not left City Hall out as the semi-autonomous agency commenced its rehabilitation of the ‘Garden City’ a day after the swearing of the new President.

For the first time in more than two years, Mayor Hamilton Green was able to have a major meeting with all his executive, administrative staff and Officers, something that was previously impossible under the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) which implanted the controversial Carol Sooba as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

Sooba, who is no longer guarded by Sean Hinds,
was among those in attendance. Sources said she had also instructed administrative staff of the muinicipality to attend the meeting with Mayor Green.

Notable however, was that Sooba who previously prevented Officers from meeting with the Mayor and who single-handedly began to run the affairs of the Council was quietly seated in the said meeting. It was suspected that as the strong arm of the PPP in what was a mainly opposition dominated Council; Sooba would have not returned to the job given her denouncement of the Mayor and Councilors and other staffers.

However, she returned to the job and will not be removed until the new Local Government Minister is appointed. Not wanting to act outside of the law, Mayor Green said Sooba is due for leave and has not done so in two years. He said, “When the Minister is appointed, we will deal with her peccadillo, her indiscipline and her crassness.” In the meantime, she remains the acting Town Clerk and is expected to function and carry out her duties; should she carry on with her previous attitude, the Mayor said she would then have to be displaced.

However a series of meetings are expected to be held with stakeholders around the city to return it to the standard it once had. The Mayor is seeking to have building evaluations, tax collections and all major revenue earners back in place. He said, “We will have meetings with communities and corporate community; it must be a collaborative effort.”

As it relates to community cleanup and such methods, he urged that citizens must not see people working in their community and not know what is happening. He said the communities must also be involved in the work process so that they will feel obligated to maintain the standard.

Efforts for building evaluations were frustrated by the government, Green said. “That is one of our priorities we have to be prepared to get the evaluations done.” This matter will have to be address in a series of meetings. “It will be a long haul. We are prepared to work 24 hours a day is necessary,” the Mayor proposed.

He hopes that, “By Christmas Georgetown would look quite different.” He said the raining season is here and the problem is the out drainage which is a mess. He said the physical make up of the city will also have to be addressed if drainage and such issues are to be effectively managed.

In the meantime, Mayor Green warned his staff against corrupt practices which he said will not be tolerated at any level. He told head of departments to be 08:00 hours to set the example for subordinate staffers. Among other new rules, the Heads have to submit written reports of work done and prognosis, while each department will also have to submit plans of work to be done.