The Legal Affairs and Security Committee of the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown has been tasked with reviewing and making amendments to the Municipality and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01 to allow for City Hall to be able to discipline their officers.
The move comes on the heels of an investigation by the Committee into allegations of sexual assault involving a City Constabulary Officer and a minor in custody. The Committee found that Chapter 28:01 allows the municipality to only discipline officers who earns below $18,000.
At a previous statutory meeting, Chairman of the Committee, Sherod Duncan, said the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01 dictates that City Hall would be unable to discipline the officers since they are paid over $18,000 per annum.
“Now everybody above $18,000 per annum would have to submit themselves to
Town Clerk Royston King
be disciplined through the Local Government Commission… the legal advice is that the recommendations and report be submitted to the Local Government Commission for an investigation and determination of the matter,” Duncan had stated.
It was advised that Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan review the specific sections of the act that address the issue of $18,000 per annum.
At Monday’s statutory meeting, Mayor Patricia Chase Green noted that if they are to refer all disciplinary matters to the Local Government Commission, then it would cause a backlog.
“We have to talk to the Minister about that, in terms of how we are going to look at the scales and what scales are expected to be deferred for disciplinary action to the Local Government Commission and for what scale we can deal with at the level of this Council. If we have to send every single body, I don’t see us moving forward in having some matters dealt with as speedily as we would like,” she lamented.
It was Town Clerk Royston King who advised that the Legal Affairs and Security Committee look at the legislation and make recommendations for its amendment before approaching the Minister.
“We will have to do it and recommend it to the Minister because as for now we are not in a good position to discipline any officer or worker that is receiving above $18,000. As you know we don’t have anyone receiving below $18,000 so as of now the authority to discipline is with the Commission but the legal advice has suggested that we ourselves look at making amendments to the law,” he advised.
Following the revelation of the legal advice, the Mayor then proceeded to bash the Town Clerk for withholding vital information from the Council, hence stalling a process that should have already commenced. She then ordered that the review of
Mayor Patricia Chase Green
the law be given priority at the next Committee meeting.
The allegations
Corporal Quacy Baveghems claimed that he witnessed Lance Corporal Clifton Pellew, of the City Constabulary engaged in a sexual act with a minor in August. The incident allegedly occurred when a 15-year-old boy was taken into custody on August 17, 2017, and placed before the court on a charge of wandering. At some point during his detention for reasons unknown, the minor was transferred to the M&CC’s Regent Street Outpost where the alleged incident occurred between August 22 and 23.
The incident caused quite a stir as citizens accused the municipality’s administration of attempting to cover up the incident. However, it was reported to the Police a few weeks after and the investigation is still ongoing. Additionally, the officers have been sent on administrative leave pending the outcome of the Police investigation.
City Hall’s Legal Affairs and Security Committee has since recommended that Chief Constable Andrew Foo, and ASP Virjanand Gafur – supervisor of investigations be sent on 14 days leave for serious neglect of duty as it related to their roles in investigating sexual assault involving a minor at the City Constabulary.
The Committee also expressed an alarming concern about the breaches of Standard Operating Procedures at all levels of the City Constabulary and general administration.
As it relates to Corporal Baveghems, the Committee found that he failed to record the alleged incident as well as his departure time in the station diary. In addition, he failed to inform the Duty Officer of the incident. As a result, the Committee recommended that he be strongly reprimanded.
The report of the Committee was sent to the Local Government Commission and the Town Clerk has since reported that the Commission indicated that they would address the incident after they are finished setting up their secretariat.
For now the two officers continue to be paid by the cash strapped municipality.
