Since last December, the nation had to endure some of the most unpleasant occurrences at City Hall, following the Head of the Presidential Secretariat’s announcement of the substantive appointment of Ms. Carol Sooba as the Town Clerk of our capital city, Georgetown. Ms. Sooba had served as acting Town Clerk for a little over a year following her appointment to that position by the then Minister of Local Government.
Dispute over the Town Clerk’s appointment
One of the applicants for the position, Mr. Royston King, who currently holds the position of Public Relations Officer, felt aggrieved and sought the intervention of the Court. The Chief Justice ruled that Ms. Sooba’s appointment was illegal since the Minister of Local Government had no authority to make such an appointment. Rather, that authority is vested in the yet-to-be established Local Government Commission. The Court nevertheless indicated that Ms. Sooba should continue to function as Town Clerk.
On 8 May 2014, the acting Town Clerk reportedly locked the City Chambers as a result of which the Council was forced to convene its meeting in the compound of City Hall. At that meeting, the Council approved of the appointment of Mr. King as the Town Clerk. At the next meeting of the Council thereafter, there was a tussle as to who should sit on the chair
