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State auditors called in to probe Town Clerk’s alleged misuse of funds
With much blame throwing and charges of ‘who owes who’ recently occurring at the Georgetown City Council, the Municipality has contacted the office of the Auditor General to investigate what it says is the misappropriation of public funds by one of its own.
Executives within the City Council told Kaieteur News last week that Mayor Hamilton Green had cause to call in representatives of the Audit office to probe the alleged use of Council funds by acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba to secure 24- hour arm security at her place of residence.
Town Clerk (ag) Carol Sooba
The report to the Audit officers accuses the Town Clerk of reportedly using Council funds to build among other things, a guard hut and sanitary facilities at her Duncan Street rental. The official told Kaieteur News that the issue was discovered when records showed that the Town Clerk had reportedly instructed the City Treasurer to issue the money and the Finance Officer signed it off.
Additionally, the Council officer said that the owner of the Duncan Street property had not applied to the Council to make any changes or to erect additional structures at the property.
Kaieteur News was there last Thursday when the Audit officers visited the Mayor. Subsequent to the meeting, the newspaper inquired from Mayor Green the topic/s discussed at the meeting. He would only say, “The Audit Officers were responding to an apparent violation of the law by the Acting Town Clerk.” He expressed optimism that the Audit Office will get to the bottom of the matter.
The Town Clerk had announced at a press briefing in early October that a selective debt recovery system was in order to assist with the Council’s growing financial ailments. She stated that several persons including Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall, the Mayor’s wife Dr. Jennifer Basdeo and prominent Accountant /Attorney Christopher Ram, had tallied taxes owed to the Council at several millions.
The Town Clerk had also stated her intention to sue the delinquent taxpayers. Mayor Green had stated, however, that the taxes owed to City Hall were being claimed in a different form since it is noticed that the Council itself has outstanding debts to some of those “delinquent taxpayers” because of its poor financial status.
Mayor Hamilton Green
He dubbed the Town Clerk’s “attacks” as political before reporting that her actions were without the blessing of the City Councilors, “since these matters could have been resolved in an amicable and civilized manner….”
City Hall has for years complained about its financial struggle. The Town Clerk has vowed throughout her tenure to restore the financial capabilities of the Council.
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