Royston King accused of unauthorised signing of M$$ rate waiver

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 20:59 by GxMedia

Royston King, who acted as Town Clerk of the Georgetown Municipality, is being accused of signing a waiver for GUY$36 million in interest without authority and on a date preceding his short-lived appointment.

But a source close to King has defended him, saying that the letter dated July 13,2012 might have been an administrative glitch because the Council had decided on July 23,2012 that he should have acted as Town Clerk.

The Local Government Minister subsequently removed King from that post around July 25, 2012 after overriding Council’s decision.

However, the source close to King said he would be examining the letter to confirm the accuracy of the date.

The source said King was relying on a previous decision by the Council that in principle all charitable and religious organisations should be granted exemptions.

King’s letter of exemption was issued to Beacon Foundation, but it later surfaced in Council’s litigation against that organisation.

Deputy Mayor, Patricia Chase-Greene could not immediately say what when was King’s letter dated, if it had the official Town Clerk stamp and whether it had the approval of the Finance Committeee. She recalled an official of Beacon Foundation had approached her to seek a waiver and that she had referred the person to the Town Clerk or the Minister of Local Government.

Asked whether it was properly documented in the Registry, the Deputy Mayor noted that the administration of that department has been in shambles for some time now.

Chase-Greene vowed that the Council would support King against retaliatory action by the Town Clerk, Carol Sooba whose legitimacy has been struck down by the High Court. Government has since appealed that decision.