AMID the standoff between the Georgetown City Council and the government over the parking meter project, calls are being made for the Town Clerk, Royston King to be fired.
King is seen as one of the hardliners at City Hall trying to hold on to the widely disparaged project being run by Smart City Solutions (SCS) Inc. Government on Tuesday suspended the by-laws for the project and called out the Guyana Police Force to protect citizens’ vehicles from being clamped by SCS operatives.
Leading the chorus is Social Activist, Mark Benschop, who in a lengthy post on his Facebook page said there is a need for a major shake-up at the Georgetown City Council, starting with King and other “old visionless political dinosaurs.”
Benschop said this is the very reason his #TeamBenschop campaigned for real change at the Local Government level.

“Unfortunately, people voted out of blind party loyalty, and now have to experience gross incompetence, negligence, and obvious corruption. Well, this has been the case for almost two decades. Apart from the square pegs, it’s time for a complete overhaul and modernisation of the Local Government Laws. Let’s begin by abolishing the Office of the Town Clerk, followed by the antiquated way of electing the Mayor. Actually, in a real democracy, it’s the citizens who vote, and elect their mayors. Hence, the time is ripe for the mayor to be elected directly by the people and given the power to govern, with obvious checks and balance through the elected councillors.”
Addressing the powers of the Minister of Communities, Benschop said that the Constitution of Guyana clearly states: Chapter 7 Section 75: —“Parliament shall provide that local democratic organs shall be autonomous and take decisions which are binding upon their agencies and institutions, and upon the communities and citizens of their areas.”
“Hence, the Cabinet or relevant Minister should not be allowed to dictate the affairs of City Hall. Neither should any Minister attempt to coerce members of the council, in voting in a manner that’s favourable towards the Minister or the government. It is for this reason and more, our Constitution made it abundantly clear that “local democratic organs shall be autonomous.”
According to Benschop, the relevant Minister, and the Cabinet should understand that the parking meter fiasco, was in fact, created by the very Minister and Cabinet.
“It is they who allowed their creatures at City Hall to have the corrupt contract signed and sealed. So, let’s not be pretentious about the situation. Yes, I want the contract to go (as Team Benschop urged over a year ago) but not by having the Minister, or his Cabinet comrades trampling upon the Constitution, or the independence (as it should be) of the council. However, if the Minister is serious about the affairs at City Hall, then he needs to ensure that there is a Local Government Commission, as soon as possible,” Benschop charged.
He added that maybe, someone can draw the minister’s attention to this part of the Constitution; Section 78A — “Parliament shall establish a Local Government Commission, the composition and rules of which empower the commission to deal with as it deems fit, all matters related to the regulation and staffing of local government organs and with dispute resolution within and between local government organs.”