Dissatisfaction with the performance of the Georgetown Town Clerk Royston King is spreading from the Chambers of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to now the realm of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), as several top executives there are calling for his removal.
Unhappiness with King’s conduct was first expressed at a PNCR General Council meeting on February 10. Following that meeting, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan had written Mayor Patricia Chase-Green to inform her that there were concerns expressed in regard to the conduct of both herself and King, who are senior members of the party.
Town Clerk Royston King
“At a meeting of the General Council of the PNCR, a delegate and Councillor called for the removal of the Town Clerk (TC) of the City of Georgetown. That call was premised on the opinion of the delegate that the TC’s conduct, deportment, and actions constitute an embarrassment to the administration,” Bulkan told Chase-Green in the letter.
According to sources close to the PNCR, a special meeting was called on Friday to discuss the conduct of both Chase-Green and King, and it was decided that full support would be given to the no-confidence motion against King, expected to be tabled by Alliance For Changer Councillor Sherod Duncan at the next Statutory Meeting on February 26.
At this special meeting, several of the top executives shared the same view that King should go, but they were very conservative when it came to discussing Chase-Green’s leadership. Chase-Green has been in a public disagreement with Bulkan over the direction in which the city is being steered. She has since accused the subject minister of meddling in City Hall’s business, and King has consistently registered his dissatisfaction with that ministry’s interference.
When contacted, General Secretary of the PNCR, Social Protection Minister Amna Ally, related that “party matters” are not to be discussed in the media, and declined to comment on the issue.
In relation to the conduct of the Town Clerk, Minister Bulkan had, in his letter, indicated that Deputy Mayor Lionel Jaikarran had indicated that he was unaware that an appeal had been made against the court order regarding the Bel Air Park fiasco.
At Monday’s statutory meeting, King and several of the Councillors became embroiled in a passionate argument regarding his overstepping boundaries where the appeal of the Bel Air Park Playground decision was concerned.
A number of town houses were slated for construction on the Bel Air Park Playground. Those would have been reserved for high-ranking officials of the M&CC, such as Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, Town Clerk Royston King, the City Engineer, and the Medical Health Officer. However, the council was barred from commencing construction by a ruling from Justice Gino Persaud.
The January 8 decision has prevented the Mayor& Councillors of the City of Georgetown and the Town Clerk from leasing or selling the Bel Air Park Playground to a private land developer. The Mayor has also defended the move by Council, stating that the plans were not made in secret, and that the matter was discussed at the council level after being raised by the Investment and Development Committee.
King was supposed to bring the notice of appeal to full council, but failed to so do, and went ahead with a planned appeal. When asked at Monday’s meeting, he informed Councillors that the matter was “administrative,” and he saw no need to bring it to council. This defiance led to Duncan moving ahead with the motion against him.
Minister Bulkan also called on the Mayor to provide information relative to business transactions made by the council. “
Be informed that I require the following: a complete list of all contracts, leases, sales, and any other transactions involving assets (real estate, equipment, etc) under the control of Council, between the date of assuming office in April 2016 to the present,” the letter stated.
Since his ascension from Public Relations Officer to Town Clerk, King has been heavily criticized by both Councillors and the general public for attempting to usurp the powers of the Council.
