King likely to be dethroned; Chase-Green’s mayoralty untouched

Last Updated on Friday, 16 February 2018, 16:32 by Denis Chabrol

Royston King is likely to be removed from the post of Town Clerk of Georgetown because of growing dissatisfaction with his performance as head of the City’s administration, according to a high-ranking official of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).

“We are not pleased with his performance,” the veteran PNCR decision-maker told Demerara Waves Online News.

At a meeting of the PNCR’s General Council, the second highest decision-making organ in between congresses, held on February 10, 2018, Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan  said “a delegate and Councillor called for the removal of the Town Clerk (TC) of the City of Georgetown. That call was premised on the opinion of the delegate that the TC’s conduct, deportment, and actions constitute an embarrassment to the administration”.  Bulkan highlighted a letter by Deputy Mayor, Lionel Jaikarran- an Alliance For Change member- who had stated that he and other councillors had been unaware of an appeal of a High Court decision with regards to the intended use of a playground at Bel Air Park for the construction of houses for certain top officials of the City’s administration.

If those positions are anything to go by, it means that a no-confidence motion against King, expected to be tabled by former Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan of the Alliance For Change, will almost certainly be approved by a full majority of the Council.

The approved motion will have to be dispatched to the Local Government Minister who, will in turn, refer the decision to Local Government Commission.

Sources said the Commission would then deliberate on the motion and ask the Town Clerk to appear for a hearing. The Commission, according to the sources, would decide whether the allegations are so serious that he should remain off the job pending the hearing and determination of the matter. The Commission will then submit its decision to the Minister responsible for Local Government for implementation.

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green

The high-level sources at Congress Place, the PNCR’s headquarters, also told Demerara Waves Online News that despite the wrangling between Mayor Patricia Chase-Green and Minister of Local Government, Ronald Bulkan, the Chief Citizen is expected to remain in office until Local Government Elections scheduled for the last quarter of 2018.

That, in effect, means that Chase-Green is likely to re-elected as Mayor at internal elections scheduled for next month. She has already said she is available for re-election and that she has done a good job.

However, the Local Government Minister and the Mayor have openly challenged each other’s authority, with the latest ministerial missive to her stating that the recently-held PNCR General Council had expressed concern about her performance.

“Madam Mayor, on 2018.02.07 at a meeting of the members of the Central Executive Committee of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), be informed that concerns were expressed about your public conduct generally, with specific reference to your public utterances which may be construed only as confrontational to the office and
/ or the person holding the office of the Minister of Communities, and the effects and implications of such conduct.”

Chase-Green was not present at that General Council meeting that was held on February 10, 2018.

Recently, City Councillor, Alfred Mentore told the Council that actions at Bel Air Park by the City’s un-elected administration without the approval of the elected Councillors were being made at a time when Guyana was heading into Local Government elections this year and general elections in 2020.