Georgetown Town Clerk downplays resignation calls

…challenges Sherod Duncan to defend his own track record

By Ramona Luthi

Georgetown Town Clerk Royston King asserted on Thursday that it came as no surprise to him that Councillors would make calls for his removal, as it was the norm that persons who were carrying out their duties “effectively” and “efficiently” would have enemies.
During an exclusive interview with Guyana Times in his office at City Hall, King noted that “you will always have people calling for the removal of public officers, particularly when those officers are effective and when those officers are getting the job done”.
The Town Clerk also sought to chastise Duncan, highlighting that the AFC Councillor should spend less time criticising him (King) and the Mayor and spend more time showing what he has done since becoming a councillor almost two years ago.
“I think instead of the Honourable Councillor Duncan calling constantly for the Town Clerk and the Mayor to be removed, I think, perhaps, it will be a greater service to citizens if Mr Duncan show citizens what he has done since he has become a councillor for over two years,” he said.
This defensive stance comes as a result of recent calls by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Councillors and former Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan for King to be removed from his post within the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
It was reported that following a Central Executive Committee meeting on February 7, 2018, several members of the PNCR had expressed concerns regarding the “public conduct” of Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green, while making calls for the removal of King.
This position by the Councillors was reportedly fuelled by the recent controversy surrounding the Bel Air Park Playground.
Meanwhile, speaking to this publication on Thursday, King posited that “a city cannot be efficiently and effectively managed on the ipsy dixy or on the whims and fancies, feelings and emotions of individuals – even if those individuals are Councillors.”
He maintained that as the city’s chief administrator, he believes a city must be managed based on a body of laws, rules, principles, by-laws and policies, which was what he was “attempting to do”.
“I’m doing it to the best of my abilities within the framework of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01…I am satisfied that we have been doing our best, that we have made changes in local communities and even in the lives of residents,” he said.