TWO officers of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council’s (M&CC) are now performing the duties of Town Clerk, with Ms Yonnette Pluck claiming that she is following the instructions of the minister, and Mr. Royston King maintaining that he has no other option but to go with the Council’s decision. The conundrum began when Councillor Ranwell Jordan moved a motion at a recent statutory meeting to have King installed as Town Clerk with immediate effect. The majority of the councillors voted in favour of the motion and King was subsequently appointed by the Council on Monday last.
The following day, Personnel Officer Paulette Braithwaite wrote to King confirming his position as Acting Town Clerk. Since then, King has reported that, in taking a professional stand, he is “simply executing a decision that was taken by Council.”
When asked to comment yesterday on the confusion at City Hall, where it is unclear who is carrying out the functions, Ms Pluck responded: “I am not confused. I have written to the minister (Kellawan Lall) asking that he make a proper pronouncement and he has done so, but Mr. King continues to act in the position.”
She added that, “anyone with a respect for the law,” would take into consideration the response by the minister. Pluck added that she is carrying out her duties on instruction from the minister, but Mr. King is signing as Town Clerk.
When contacted yesterday, King maintained that “it is a simple thing” and that he was carrying out the instructions of the Council. “I don’t know how I cannot carry out a decision of the Council. I have no other option,” he said.    
Deputy Mayor Robert Williams told this newspaper yesterday that the Council did not appoint King but recommended him for the position of Town Clerk. At the same time, he said PRO King was mandated by the Council to perform the duties and is currently doing so.
Williams disclosed that he will be making a full statement on the issue today at City Hall.
Meanwhile, at a press conference on Wednesday, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall pointed out that the motion by the Council passed is null and void and that Ms Pluck’s position should not be rescinded.
“The motion collides with the Municipal and District Councils Act. You cannot appoint someone with immediate effect when, in fact, you have to make a recommendation to the Minister…I cannot understand why this motion was allowed. It cannot stand scrutiny,” the minister said.
He accused King of trying to usurp the functions of the Town Clerk, and added: “I believe there are some political shenanigans going on in the Council and this will have some serious implications.”
Lall said, should King be found guilty of making the attempt, his application for the post would no longer be considered. He added that an investigation, which is underway, could very well affect King’s position as PRO. “He dealt with the matter in an undignified manner. He will have to pay the penalty.”
The Minister, in a letter to Mayor Hamilton Green, said he proposed that a new panel be constituted to examine all the applications for the Town Clerk and Treasurer positions, to undertake interviews, and make a final recommendation.
Furthermore, the letter proposed that the panel consist of a representative of the Georgetown Municipality, one from the Ministry of Local Government, one from Guyana Labour Union, one from the Guyana Local Government Officers Union, and one from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Meanwhile, Minister Lall said, to date, the Implementation Committee that was established by his ministry to investigate the operations of the M&CC has done a tremendous job.
He said significant improvement has been seen in the workings of the Council since the IC, chaired by Commissioner Keith Burrowes, was named.
The Minister said he sought not to make any appointments at the municipality, but gave the IC some more time to deal with other aspects, especially the preparation of the budget.