Sooba: ‘Legal actions will be taken against Green’s bullyism

ACTING Town Clerk Carol Sooba has revealed that charges are in the process of being filed against Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green for his extreme acts of bullyism displayed towards revenue collectors who were executing their duties last Monday on the seawalls, and for his unlawful removal of a vehicle key.

At a press conference held in the Chambers of City Hall yesterday, Sooba sequenced the events which reflected the mayor’s acts of bullyism towards her staff.

“The subsequent result of his actions has left my staff traumatized,” she said.

This was evidently proven on Monday when the Guyana Chronicle visited the Alberttown Police Station and found staff members of the Georgetown City Council (M&CC) who had suffered at the hands of the mayor giving statements to the police.

Sooba explained that Julian Orgista, who was responsible for collecting the revenue from vendors for spots on the seawalls, was targeted by the mayor, who demanded that vendors must not issue monies to Orgista. The mayor then proceeded to verbally abuse Orgista and to tarnish his character as a prominent minister in his local church by labelling him as a “thief” in the presence of onlookers.

Orgista, who was also present at the press conference, told reporters that the repercussions of the mayor’s actions are not favourable to him, as people will now question the sincerity of his post as a preacher when all he was executing was his legal obligation as a revenue collector.

Sooba reiterated that selling spots for vending has been an ongoing activity of the M&CC for over twenty years, and that contrary to reports from other news media, the power of selling spots for vending is vested in her entirely, as the administrative body is responsible for this activity.

Sooba debunked as inaccurate reports of her not obtaining permission to sell spots for vending from the Ministry of Public Works. She said permission was granted last year and this year under her stewardship. “We do not do anything illegal,” she said.

According to her, “the mayor and Council has the responsibility of making policies; the power is in the administrative arm to execute those policies, and that is what we have done.”

Moreover, she noted that a financial report is usually presented at the end of such initiatives, so as to account for the revenue accumulated by the City Council.

Collecting revenue for vending is an administrative duty rather than a political duty, hence it did not find favour with the Mayor or Deputy Mayor, and they were both eliminated from the exercise.

Sooba posited that their actions are a manifestation of retaliation towards her.

She said that, in previous years, there has been “miniscule accumulation” of funds from vending activities, and no significant amount of funds could have been generated from this activity under the deputy mayor’s stewardship.

In a twist of events, Sooba was keen to reveal that the keys to the vehicle PLL 7605 which the mayor had unlawfully extracted, leaving monies and the vehicle in a vulnerable position, was returned by one of the mayor’s drivers, who boldly told her that the mayor had sent them.

Such actions manifest the dishonesty of the mayor, who refuted claims by members of the Guyana Police Force on Monday that he had the keys.

Sooba also revealed that monies would now have to be spent to repair the vehicle of the damages it sustained while being towed to a safer location.

Though Sooba was disappointed in ASP Gordon Langevine for not arresting Green and allowing him to “bully” and “abuse” her staff, Langevine explained that Mayor Green proceeded to a vendor’s stand and demanded them not to pay the revenue to Orgista while also demanding him (Langevine) not to collect any money. This, he claims, would have constituted a confrontation between constables and citizens who stood in support of Green, and as such, he sought to do the responsible thing by protecting Orgista, who had cash on him at the time, by ushering him away.

The acting Town Clerk is of the opinion that the mayor and deputy mayor would stop at no level in their efforts to tarnish her post. On that note, she posited that the deputy mayor is given to outbursts of intemperance.

“I am also of the opinion that both Hamilton Green and Patricia Chase-Green have lost it. I am no medical expert, but I am of that belief, which has convinced me that something is wrong with their mental state; or, if not, they are evil,” she said.

She also refuted the inaccurate claims of other media entities and the mayor that families who occupied spots for recreational purposes were subjected to pay revenues. To this extent, she noted that only those who sought to occupy spots for commercial purposed were required to pay the obligatory revenue.

Sooba was convinced that the solid waste restoration process ongoing at the seawall areas would have been completed by 3.00pm yesterday. The contract for this undertaking was awarded to Puran Bros. Disposal Service.