LGC resolving complaints received – Chairman

Local democratic organs
…confirmed says commission is not cash-strapped

The Local Government Commission (LGC) has been addressing various concerns raised by Local Authority Areas (LAA). This is according to its chairman, Mortimer Mingo, who also said the constitutional body is not cash-strapped.
Mingo says he is unaware of any negative impact on the commission’s functioning when it comes to finances. He noted that the LGC is presently recruiting personnel in a bid to fill its vacancies.
“We are in fact carrying out our functions as set out under the Act. What we are presently in the process of (is advertising) for staff. We have shortlisted, and we are beginning the process of recruitment,” Mingo related.
He stressed that the LGC deals with a number of different issues besides investigating complaints from various local democratic organs. He went on to outline some of these complaints.
“We have much wider responsibilities: the various appointments of staff, (and) transfers, among other things. We have been dealing quite a lot with the whole question of filling of vacancies in the various Local democratic organs. We have been able, wherever complaints have been made to the commission — given our limited resources at this present time — we have been addressing these as far as practicable.”

“We are still looking at these issues,” he continued. “We have been looking at issues in Rose Hall and a number of these NDC. We have received complaints against overseers; we have received complaints as relates (to) the relationship between the councils and their administration, and we have been resolving those issues,” Mingo explained.

Cases
There are, in the local government systems, a number of controversies that have been in the public domain for some time. One such issue includes previous reports that, in some local authority areas, officials are being appointed without any vacancy being advertised. In addition, there have been reports that young, qualified applicants are being overlooked in favour of others.
The case last year of the sexual abuse of a minor in the Georgetown Mayor and City Council’s custody and the subsequent bungled handling of the matter, including the failure of City Hall officials to immediately report the matter to the Police, was anticipated to attract the attention of the body.
Concerned persons had last year staged several protests in front of City Hall for the removal of Town Clerk Royston King and Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green from their respective posts, and for them to be arrested. The guard accused of molesting the minor was subsequently charged, while another guard who initially reported the matter to his superiors was dismissed.
The commission is charged with, among other things, control over who gets appointed as officials in the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and other local authorities. In addition, it would have to approve budgets for the NDCs.
By law, the commission is to be made up of eight members, who are to include four nominated from the Government, one from the unions, and three from the Leader of the Opposition.
The Commission’s members are: Mortimer Mingo, Clement Corlette, Marlon Williams, Jo-Ann Romascindo, Andrew Garnett, former Local Government Ministers Norman Whittaker and Clinton Collymore, and former Georgetown Town Clerk Carol Sooba.