Latest update September 6th, 2026 7:34 PM
City Hall defends Royston King
Dear Editor,
In view of Councillor Andrea Marks’ protestation on September 13, 2016, to have the Town Clerk removed i.e ‘Town Clerk Must Go.’ Be advised that the responsibility of formulating policies is the job of councillors where they are not to be engaged in administrative work. According to the Municipal District Council Chapter 28:01 by-law, there is a clear line between the work of the elected council and the duties of the City Administration where councillors are expected to support Administration in its efforts to enforce compliance with the City’s by-laws, rules and regulations.
Councillors need to become au fait with the laws of Chapter 28:01 and should be guided by such as opposed to willy nilly sensational statements that can cause discord and bring the repetition of the municipality to be compromised. Knowing and understanding 28:01 is paramount as it is the standard by which all municipal activities should be measured. No individual councillor has the right to impose his or her personal opinion on the decisions of full council. It is not about individualism but more about the collective council as a whole.
What has been happening is that a few councillors, some with noticeable political ambitions, others with not so subtly hidden agenda, have been supporting activities that are in glaring contravention of the by-laws of the Municipal District Councils Act Chapter 28: 01 and the Public Health Ordinances Chapter 145 which they swore to uphold.
The Town Clerk’s duties and responsibilities are stipulated in the Municipal Act of Chapter 28: 01. It should be noted that even if he is willing to give into the demands of some councilors, he is constrained by the law to which he is held accountable to ensure the integrity of the Nation’s Capital and the well being of the local communities and the citizenry.
While in the past the laws have been flouted and hands were tied by the previous powers that be, in this current dispensation, persons need to realize that the city’s are managed effectively and sustainably based on rules and laws not on “friendism”, personal innuendoes, opinions and personal ambitions.
The law is the Law and it is being used effectively to the betterment for the majority. Further, be informed that the recent move by Town Clerk, Royston King on Robb Street to temporarily suspend vending activities was not one made in isolation.
For clarity the vendors were warned on several occasions, in addition to having an agreement about keeping the surroundings tidy which was ignored. They were also warned about bringing out goods in manageable amounts, desisting from blocking entrances and exits of legitimate business houses and staying on a certain portion of the road. Most of them flouted this advice. They have been warned time and again by councillors and City Police not to encroach on the road ways which lend to traffic congestion and in some cases make for the road way being impassable, yet they have persisted.
Following complaints from legitimate business owners, on the day in question with other officers, a decision was made to suspend vending in that area so that it could be cleaned, cleared and properly sanitized in the interest of the health of the nation. This area, because of vending, encouraged illegal accommodation, and given the economic realities had become unhealthy, and many even forgot that those spaces were also taken over by vendors on Robb Street between Alexander and Bourda Street. We met with the vendors and had the area cleared, cleaned and sanitized and they have since been advised to desist from such practices.
Contrary to publications that the President has decried the reckless attitude of the Town Clerk, let it be known that the President is a law abiding manager of Guyana and his actual advice hinted to Vendors being afforded a safe, clean, sanitary place with a roof so that they would be able to pay for the accommodation and that the city’s streets would be void of pavement and street vending generally. It is foolhardy that some saw it fit to twist the good intentioned statement of the President to suit their best political narrative.
Should we advise the vendors every time we plan to move against them in the interest of the City we would be faced with injunctions galore and a very unhealthy city for which the administrators would be blamed? Please be advised that vending according to the law requires each vendor to have a huckster’s license and a certificate from City Hall. This is hardly the case which put all or most of the vendors in a spot as they do not have any of the two requirements. Be you not fooled on Matters of Council/Georgetown Municipality.
Debra Lewis
Public Relations Officer ((ag)
Mayor and City Council
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Every time I see letters by this honourable lady,
I read carefully as I am aware of the historic style
of writing of the TC.
I see clearly close linkages to his style, hence my suspicions as to the real writer.
The letter is definitely self-serving and breaches all the rules
that govern the writings of an official PRO.
Far too many personal opinions were expressed and read
more like a personal defence of autocratic actions,
plus unwarranted attacks on councillors e.g.
“some with noticeable political ambitions,
others with not so subtly hidden agenda,”..
Maybe Dear Editor your headline should have been
‘The Public Relations Officer defends her Town Clerk!’
Please give me some ink on this!