Someone came down from the skies and advised that the King must go

Feb 23, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

The Town Clerk, Mr. Royston King, has come under severe castigation for appealing a court decision on the Bel Air Park playfield without the Council’s explicit decision on the issue. It was revealed that the Council in the first place never endorsed a project for the park that was implemented by the Town Clerk, the said project which was subject of litigation in which Mr. King lost.
He (Mr. King) has lodged an appeal. In response to condemnation from certain quarters that he needs the Council decision to appeal, Mr. King wrote a long epistle in the newspaper defending his action, quoting from the Municipal and District Councils Act to show he had the legal power to pursue the appeal without the endorsement of the Council
His missive is a sad yet facetious affair. It explains why legal training is one of the requirements for the position of Town Clerk. In quoting from the law, Mr. King exhibits complete misunderstanding of what the Act says, and how the Town Clerk’s power is derived. But most dangerously, he fails to comprehend the essential role of an elected government, and the Georgetown Council is the local government of the capital city.
Mr. King presents the following sections of the Act; (1) – “Subject to any general directions which the council may give, he shall have the charge and custody of, and be responsible for, all charters, deeds, records and other documents belonging to the council which shall be kept as the council may direct. (2) – “Where any document is required as a necessary step in legal proceedings on behalf of the council he shall sign such document unless any written law otherwise requires or authorizes, or the council shall have given the necessary authority to some other person for the purpose of such proceedings.” (3) – “In the discharge of the functions of his office the clerk shall have all the powers and duties conferred and imposed upon the clerk by or under this Act or any other law, and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, he shall have the powers and duties assigned to him by and be responsible for the matters and such other duties as may be assigned to him by the council of which he is the clerk. (4) – The clerk or other officer authorized in writing by the clerk may, subject to the general or specific directions of the council, exercise the powers of the council, and all acts done by the clerk or such officer in the exercise of those powers shall be deemed to have been done by the council.”
Any schoolboy can tell King that he doesn’t understand the Act. But who says King does not? He does, but he uses it conveniently. In every section quoted by King, the supreme role of the council is spelt out. For example, “subject to any general direction which the council may give.” King seems to ignore the potency of those words. Again there are these words; “and such other duties as may be assigned to him by the council of which he is the clerk.” But here is the pellucid aspect that maybe has not as yet dawned on King; “The clerk or other officer authorized in writing by the clerk may, subject to the general or specific directions of the council.”
King is in the news for the past two years for all the wrong reasons, and we tend to focus on him and not the Council. In any self-respecting country, King would have been given his dismissal letter. Why not in Guyana? Because we are a shithole/shithouse land.
Royston King, as spelt out in pellucid language, is the equivalent to a Permanent Secretary (PS). It is unthinkable for a PS to make policies for his/her ministry and by extension for the government. That authority falls under the jurisdiction of the subject minister. I honestly cannot recall a situation since Independence where a PS composed and implemented a policy on his/her own and the next day the minister reads about it.
But this is what King has been doing since he became Town Clerk. And he has been doing it because he knows the Council will not act against him. This is where the politics of this land is so sad. King’s edicts have been damaging the credibility of the PNC, which controls the elected City Council. But the Council and the PNC leadership felt he was one of their own. It looks like someone came down from the skies and told them what they should have known all along – King should go.

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