Sooba says she fears for her life
EMBATTLED Town Clerk (Ag.) Carol Sooba, in a statement yesterday disclosed that she has received word that she is a “target” of criminal elements and as a result she now fears for her life.
According to her, the information is from a credible source, who was part of a meeting in South Georgetown, organized by two officials from the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC), where her post as acting Town Clerk was protested.
She said, “These officials were meeting with known elements connected to the criminal underworld. Part of their plan is to physically harm me by dousing me with corrosive substances, and to fire-bomb my residence.
“I have no reason to question the creditability of the information provided to me since neighbours and other individuals have reported to me that strange persons were seen in and around the vicinity of my home on several recent occasions.
“Two recent incidents have caused me to believe that my vehicle was trailed during the time when I travelled home.”
Sooba, despite registering her concern over the threat to her life, said she will be “relentless” in her capacity to resist the attempts by Mayor Hamilton Green, among others, to remove her by “illegitimate and sinister” means.
The acting Town Clerk said, “These threats have since forced me to implement additional security measures. These attacks on me have emanated from my efforts to root out deep-seated corruption in the City Council.
“I remain humble and encouraged by the great support given to me by citizens in and out of Georgetown, officers and staff of the Council, in the face of concerted efforts by the Mayor and his cabal to stymie my efforts with their anti-Sooba campaign.”
The Mayor and Councillors of Georgetown, last week, moved to have Public Relations Officer (PRO) Royston King illegally appointed as Town Clerk, but not in keeping with the provisions of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01.
In keeping with Article 118(1) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, which reads to the effect that the power to appoint persons to hold or act in any local government office and the power to remove any such local government officer from office shall be vested in the Local Government Commission. The Act further provides in Article 119 (1) that any such decision taken by the Commission must be approved by the powers duly vested in the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development.
The dispute over the Town Clerk’s appointment has spanned the tenure of three successive Local Government Ministers, Kellawan Lall, Ganga Persaud and Norman Whittaker.
Once again the Council has found itself in a dilemma by seeking to override the powers of the Local Government Minister in keeping with the constitutionally provided selection process of appointing local government officers in the absence of a Local Government Commission.
There have since been calls on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, as well as the ‘appointed’ Town Clerk to work in unison in the interest of progress, and to improve the current situation at the Council.