HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr Roger Luncheon has defended the decision taken by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to install Carol Sooba as Town Clerk of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).Dr Luncheon was asked about Sooba’s qualifications following his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President, in Georgetown, last Wednesday. “I don’t know the lady. I’m totally unfamiliar with her,” he said.

Qualifications – one subset
However, he pointed out that the local government ministers were quite forthcoming about Sooba’s appointment at the last Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “The point he (the minister) made is that the issue of qualifications is just one subset of the criteria that the panel had to address in making their recommendations.”
According to the HPS, the importance of experience on-the-job ought not to be discounted. “The day you finish getting the degree…that does not make you experienced. And if you look at the public service job specifications, you will find that a qualification rarely is the only criteria.”
He said further: “Why would the minister take someone who has not met any aspect of the criteria? I don’t think the minister would do that. I can’t imagine that you ain’t meet no criteria and still the minister would find it convenient, appropriate to go ahead and make the appointment. Hardly likely. Not in the modern world.”

“Integrity of character”
Meanwhile, Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Norman Whittaker told this publication a few days ago that Sooba is someone with “integrity of character.” He spoke to the Guyana Chronicle following the statutory meeting of the M&CC last Monday at which councillors fervently complained about Sooba’s appointment.
Whittaker said his ministry is empowered by legislation to do appointments in the absence of a Local Government Commission. At present, this body does not exist and hence the ministry could not allow the municipality to go on without the necessary appointments, he explained.
He informed that the panel was not empowered to appoint but to recommend. “And the minister may or may not accept such a recommendation.”
On the point raised by councillors about Sooba’s “incompetence” and “unprofessionalism”, Whittaker said the municipality has over the years seen many qualified town clerks but all of them presided over the decline of the city.
“So this minister was looking for someone with integrity of character, experience, knowledge, and commitment,” he offered.
Whittaker observed that the former qualified town clerks could not have found out the shocking revelations that came out in the ‘Burrowes Report’ and in the ‘Gaskin Report’.
He said academic qualification is not the only requirement for the job and Sooba has brought about changes. “She couldn’t work miracles to fix everything but now people have no problems with collecting their salaries and garbage contractors are not striking. So there has been improvement,” he declared.