…Mingo says firing was in “public’s interest” not about money bag

THE Chief Constable of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (MCC), Andrew Foo, was fired based on investigations into a no-confidence motion (NCM) moved against him in September, 2019, and not from an investigation into a Council’s money bag that was found in his assigned Constabulary vehicle.

Chairman of the Local Government Commission (LGC), Mortimer Mingo, confirmed that the investigation into the money bag situation had concluded and the necessary officers were sanctioned. However, those involved did not include Foo.

Foo’s services were terminated with his retirement benefits intact, as per request of the NCM, which was moved by Councillor Denroy Tudor, seconded by Councillor Eketa Edwards and received the support of 19 councillors, while three abstained. Two Councillors, Trichria Richards and Akeem Peter had voted against the motion, citing it as a case of ‘injustice’.
Foo’s termination, which was effective from December 31, was handed down by the LGC, in the “public interest”, Mingo noted. “The municipality of Georgetown, in September, moved a NCM against Foo and coming out of that the LGC caused an investigation to be done, to determine the reason for the no-confidence position. As a result of that, we had put forward those charges to Mr. Foo; we asked him to respond,” Mingo explained.

“We received a written response from him, and, in keeping with the rules of natural justice, we asked him to appear before the commission which he did, sometime in early December. We listened to him, and we concluded that there was merit in the council’s decision to have no confidence in him, so the Commission upheld the no-confidence motion as put forth by the council. We took a decision that he would be relieved of his duty in the public interest.”
The September motion had cited the Chief Constable for displaying a “lackluster, cavalier, inept and generally incompetent” attitude towards his job.

It said the Chief Constable’s inaction included, but were not limited to, his failure to formulate and implement a modern security plan to guard the council’s assets; his continued failure to adhere to council’s decisions with respect to the acting appointment of the Deputy Chief Constable; his continued unwillingness to work with the council to ensure that there was order and peace both within the council and on the streets of Georgetown; and his failure to effectively supervise the council’s constabulary which had been the subject of public ridicule.

The motion also contended that officers in that department were indisciplined, with their work ethics and morals having declined under Foo’s leadership. It recommended to the LGC that Foo be immediately dismissed. It also directed that Foo be sent on leave pending the commission’s decision. Speaking against the motion however, Councilor Richards had said that the motion was badly worded, while Councillor Peter offered that sufficient evidence was not put forward to support the motion. Even though the Chief Constable might have done things contrary to his duties, Peter said that did not warrant the man’s dismissal.