THE Women’s Progressive Organization (WPO) said in a press statement yesterday that it has taken note of the barrage of attacks levelled against acting Town Clerk Ms. Carol Sooba by Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green and his band of councillors, and that the attack included Mayor Green mobilizing a group of vendors to protest against the continued presence of Ms. Sooba at City Hall. Those attacks, the WPO said, are revealing, as they come almost immediately after the acting Town Clerk had announced a campaign to root out corruption at the M&CC.

Alluding to Ms. Sooba’s public statement that some councillors had pressured her to engage in actions which are below board and are against the laws governing the municipality, the WPO said that Sooba’s outright refusal must be commended.

The revelation that Ms. Sooba was also being pressured by no less a person than Mayor Green to write off millions of dollars in taxes payable to the municipality by a business operated by his wife, even more so when City Hall is operating under serious cash flow constraints, is most revealing, the WPO statement continued.

“Disclosures of the misuse of international donor funds by the Mayor and his associates add to the dilemma,” the WPO statement declared, saying the WPO finds it strange that in rallying roadside vendors to protest against Ms. Sooba, no less a person than Mr. Green is quoted by the media as stating that: “There was no plan to address vending in the City”.

“We find this statement most damning, as Mr. Green has been functioned as Mayor of Georgetown since 1994, and it has been several years since the High Court would have ruled this practice illegal,” the statement continued.

Unfortunately, the Mayor is turning a blind eye to the continuous construction of illegal vending structures all over the city, especially on parapets and reserves in the city, the statement said.

“Contrast the eagerness of the Mayor and his councillors to remove Ms. Sooba who, during her nine months at City Hall has reportedly managed to save over $80 million for the cash strapped M&CC, to their refusal to support the dismissal of the previous Town Clerk (ag.) Ms. Yonette Pluck and support staff, despite the fact that an independent investigation found major financial irregularities during their tenure,” the WPO affirmed.
The release stated that, based on recent revelations and accusations levelled at the M&CC, persons of East Indian descent are routinely targeted. Therefore, the WPO, as a multi-ethnic organization which has fought for close to 60 years against such practices, finds the unjust attacks against Ms. Carol Sooba because of her ethnicity most reprehensible.

“The Women’s Progressive Organization stands firm in supporting Ms. Carol Sooba and her efforts to weed out the incompetence and corruption at City Hall, which have had a devastating effect on our capital city and the image of Guyana,” the release concluded.