City CoI
…as Commissioner examines poorly stored historical records
Decades old historical records at City Hall and the City Constabulary Training Complex were inspected by retired Justice Cecil Kennard on Thursday, who requested to see the condition of the books and the information that was kept in the archives.
A visit to City Hall was first on the agenda on Thursday as the Commissioner took a closer look at the fragile documents in the company of the legal assistant, Sherwin Benjamin and the acting Town Clerk, Sharon Harry-Munroe.
Some of the papers which were seen by Guyana Times were aged and it was difficult in some situations to detect what was inscribed. The area where the records were stored was poorly kept and in some instances, in a deteriorated state. Most of these records were stored in an infested, water-logged room and were poorly kept.
This impromptu call to examine the archives stemmed from Wednesday’s public hearing where the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) was told that the centre, which is located on Water Street, Georgetown, was broken into by employees at City Hall on August 14.
During that incident, the locks on the doors were broken and the two individuals proceeded to uplift “three thick books” from the building.
According to the Chief Constable Andrew Foo, the women acted on Town Clerk Royston King’s instructions, since he is the sole custodial for the Council’s assets.
Harry-Munroe stated in the report that was filed that the books were taken for the 175TH City Week Celebrations. She, however, denied that the keys to the room is stored at the Town Clerk office and claimed that the City Constabulary is the holder of these keys.
This raised the question as to whether it was a criminal act, since officials of the Constabulary were not notified of their actions to take these records.
As the inquiry unfolds, Mayor Patricia Chase Green is expected to submit her witness statement today, given the fact that she was subpoenaed. Failure to appear without a reason is deemed an offence and the necessary actions will be taken by the Commission and moreover, the Local Government Commission (LGC).
So far, almost every senior official at the Council has presented their evidence along with retired employees and contractors who has issues of nonpayment with the Council.
