For little more than an hour on Monday, Mayor Ubraj Narine, with support from several members of the Georgetown City Council, accused the city administration “putting his life in danger” after it refused to remove a longstanding staff member so that his personal driver could be designated a chauffeur.
At the statutory council meeting on Monday, Narine accused the administration, led by acting Town Clerk Sharon Harry-Munroe, of “disrespect,” while claiming that he did not feel safe in the company of the official chauffeur, who had held the position since 1994 and who served at least three mayors in that time.
As Harry-Munroe attempted to explain that Human Resources guidelines do not allow for arbitrary dismissal of staff, Narine dramatically declared, “Y’all sabotaging me… I feel my life is in danger… My life is in danger with this administration.”
Harry-Munroe, however, noted, “I cannot employ that person as a chauffeur when we already have a chauffeur employed. There is no vacancy for a chauffeur. The council staffing structure provides for two chauffeurs and there are currently two chauffeurs employed. We can’t just take somebody and give them the designation; that would be changing the structure of council to accommodate the Mayor and I don’t advise that we do that. It would be outside of the law.”
She further explained that cash strapped council is “overstaffed with drivers,” so employing a new person was not advisable.
However, Harry-Munroe added that since the Mayor assumed his post in January, she had bowed to his request to have his driver seconded to the council. Further, she said she has committed to paying the preferred driver an honorarium to cover the difference in salary if and when he is confirmed as a staff member by the Local Government Commission.
“If I was forcing that person [the current chauffeur] on you, that person would’ve been driving you,” Harry-Munroe noted, before adding that it is unfortunate and unfair of the Mayor to sit at the head of the horseshoe table and level accusations at the city administration.
In the face of continued attacks by the Mayor as well as Councillor Heston Boswick, the acting Town Clerk declared that while she will act on all council decisions, she would like her objections to be duly recorded.
“When I go down, I go down with what is right. I must be able to walk through that gate knowing I have done right and that is what I stand by. My advice to council is we already have someone employed as a chauffeur,” she declared.
Boswick subsequently tabled a motion for the Mayor to be provided with a chauffeur of his choice. The motion was approved, with 10 voting in favour and two against. Eight councillors abstained on the motion.
Meanwhile, as Harry-Munroe sought to appease the Mayor, several officers on the floor were visibly disgusted and incensed by the Mayor’s behaviour.
“Get up! Get up and walk out. We will follow you,” one officer said, as a few others left the council chamber.
“This is ridiculous,” another quipped, while one APNU councillor who left the horseshoe table during the exchange muttered, “She should lead her officers out.”
