No confidence motion rejected as…
GEORGETOWN Mayor Hamilton Green was accused on Monday of utilising money that did not belong to him and that action could be taken against him if information on his recent trip to China was not provided.
But he lashed out at his accusers attending their statutory meeting in City Hall, calling them “yard fowls” and declaring he was tired of “stupidity.” Green, who chaired the forum attended by Deputy Mayor Robert Williams and other municipal functionaries, also attacked individuals outside the Council, charging that they are holding something against him because they lack facts and logic.
The Mayor’s trip to China was discussed at the previous statutory meeting but the matter was raised again Monday, with Councillor Ranwell Jordan informing that he checked with the Chinese Embassy to ascertain if it, in fact, made contributions to the travel.
Jordan said neither Acting Town Clerk Yonnette Pluck nor City Treasurer Andrew Meredith could provide information on the issue and no officer of the municipality was aware on what terms money for the traveling was obtained.
Jordan said it was his right to make the enquiry from the embassy and disclosed that an officer there told him it did look after the visas but the individual could not say whether it made any other contribution.
Jordan argued that, though the Mayor informed the Council about the journey, he did not mention if he received cash from the Chinese Embassy and if it was a gift.
Jordan said he was certain the money did not pass through the Treasury Department, although the memorandum the Mayor sent to the Town Clerk indicated that the visit was an official one.
If this is so, Jordan said, the funds gained should have been sent to the Treasury Department and then used for whatever purpose it was given.
He said the Council was happy that Green used his office to gain assistance for the municipality but said the latter must not feel that officers would utilise it in a way that he alone deems fit and right.
Jordan also stated that Green was the one who identified the officers to go with him and that Williams became knowledgeable of it at the last moment.
“You acted alone on a matter that has to do with the Council. Your responsibility is not to assume that you can function without the authority of the Council,” Jordan told Green.
Councillor Fitzgerald Agard said he was “hurt” that the Mayor did not see fit to communicate with the Council on the matter, as if he did, it would have shown some amount of respect for the body.
Councillor Gwendolyn Mc Gowan also said not one of the officers who travelled with Green made mention of it prior to leaving.

JAPANESE GRANT
Councillor Devi Ross alleged that, to date, no one knows what became of a Japanese grant to the municipality.
Councillor Ian Andrews was of the opinion that Jordan’s enquiry at the Chinese Embassy was unprofessional and there seems to be a desire to embarrass, hurt and destroy at the Council.
Councillor Junior Garrett asked Green to disclose the amount of funding that was spent on the trip and warned that there could be some serious repercussions for him despite his elderly age.
Garrett insisted that Green prepare a statement to say how much was expended.
Williams said every cent that comes into the Council goes into the General Fund and remarked that the question which needs clarification is if the tickets were bought by the Chinese Embassy.
He disclosed that the officers were properly granted leave but the thing that needs to be clarified is if they made known, to the Council, that they were going to spend the time overseas.
Councillor Oscar Clarke offered that, “when things are not done properly, this is the kind of embarrassment that will be faced.”
He maintained that there must be a procedure for everything that is done.
According to him, if an inquiry was to be mounted into the China trip, then it should have been done officially by the Town Clerk and, if the money was a gift, that should have been reported to the Council, as well.
“If we are going by the proper method, then no councilor should have approached the Embassy. The Town Clerk cannot just say that she does not know and I wish to know why she is not finding out. We must insist that our officers take responsibility,” Clarke said.
He said the least he expects, from the Mayor, is a formal report on the outcome of the visit.
Pluck was absent from Monday’s meeting but Sharon Harry-Munroe, deputizing for her, said Pluck did inform the Council that the officers had applied and were granted leave.
She said Pluck also indicated that sponsorship was sought but was unaware in what form.
Mc Gowan, however asked Harry-Munroe to present the officers’ leave forms and revealed that  only Clerk of Markets Schulder Griffith reported that he was going abroad.
Jordan then moved a motion of no confidence in Green and it was seconded by Garrett but the Mayor ruled that it was out of context and irrelevant.
Garrett responded that the Mayor is not the only decision maker and admonished him to  note that “the city is going down and down and down by the day.”
Green then announced that a report on the trip is almost complete but he could not finish it because he had to rush off to a Manhattan meeting in the United States (U.S.) and only returned hours before they met Monday.
He said no cheque or cash was given him in his capacity of Mayor and he should have been complimented not criticised.
Green said the trip was made possible as a result of his influence and facilitation.
“I don’t have to give the details. I simply called persons. This self-destructing discussion comes on a sad day. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, forgetting our enemy is at the door,” he lamented.