Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine yesterday told Stabroek News that Town Clerk Candace Nelson was refusing to sign a contract for hART Public Affairs, a company approved by the Mayor and City Council to handle its public relations.
He said that the Town Clerk, however, is asking the council to approve a contract for CNS Disposal Services, which handles garbage disposal in and around Georgetown.
The Mayor accused the Town Clerk of executing the ‘dictates” of the Local Government Commission (LGC), in not signing the contract.
Stabroek News was unable to get a response from Nelson, after being told that she was on leave. A visit to the Town Clerk’s office and calls to mobile numbers proved futile.
Narine, in a press release yesterday, said that the LGC is acting outside its ambit and its action would disrupt the work of the Municipality.
He said that Nelson’s refusal to sign the contract for hART to conduct the public affairs of the Municipality, was outside of her scope of authority. According to him, Chapter 28:01 of the Municipal and District Council Act, empowers the M&CC to make decisions in keeping with its responsibilities to the citizens of Georgetown. Narine declared that those decisions must be executed by the Town Clerk.
When asked if he considered a contract for a PR company as important as one for garbage disposal, Narine said “yes”. He explained that the M&CC’s public relations was important to the functioning of the Municipality.
Asked if the Council’s refusal to approve the CNS contract was as a result of Nelson’s reluctance to sign the hART contract, the Mayor said that, “she (Nelson) can’t be selective in which contract she wants to sign or not sign.” He admitted that it’s the citizens of the Georgetown who would suffer as a result of the impasse between him and Nelson, since their garbage would not be picked up.
The Mayor maintained that its LGC which in “interfering” with the matters of the M&CC that has resulted in the contract for hART, whose principal consultant is Brian Smith, who once worked as the Public Affairs Assistant to the President from June 2018 to October 2020, and as Assistant Director of Sport under the David Granger government from June 2015 to May 2018, not being signed by the Town Clerk.
Asked if the Council’s refusal to approve the CNS contract was as a result of Nelson reluctance to sign the hART contract, the Mayor said that, “she (Nelson) can’t be selective in which contract she wants to sign or not sign.” He admitted that it’s the citizen of the Georgetown that would suffer as a result of the impasse between him and Nelson.
Referring again to the LGC which he is adamant was the root cause of the problem, Narine said that the PR contract was not an employment by the Council, and again cited Chapter 28:01 as giving the M&CC the power to implement such a contract, and has nothing to do with LGC.
Narine emphasized that the “interference” of the LGC would be “vehemently” rejected with strong opposition, including “legal and legitimate” methods.
The Local Government Commission Act 2013 states that the Commission shall have power to deal with all matters relating to the regulation and staffing of local government organs including employment and dismissal of staff and with dispute resolution within and between local government organs.
