City Hall sets up special committee to disburse, manage community projects

Jul 09, 2018 News

The Georgetown Mayor and City Council, (M&CC), has set up a special committee to disburse, manage and evaluate community projects as part of its strategy to guide the expenditure of constituency funds.
Last Month, the Council announced that the Ministry of Communities released $57,688,022 million to fund community projects in the 15 constituencies. Council officials had confirmed that all of the projects are to be executed under the ‘Restoration Grant.’
Officials said $24M has been set aside for the fiscal transfer plan and that the Ministry has since asked that all procurement procedures be followed. Town Clerk Royston King had explained that a policy is expected to cover a number of issues including what makes a candidate eligible to obtain a contract, in accordance with the laws, that govern the operations of City Hall.

Town Clerk Royston King

During a recent engagement with the press, it was revealed that the ten point guideline was released to the Council.
The guideline includes a special committee to disburse and manage the community projects. The M&CC committee is chaired by Mayor Patricia Chase Green, Oscar Clarke, chairman of the M&CC Finance Committee, Councillor Phillip Smith, City Engineer Colvern Venture and City Treasurer, (Ag) Sharon Harry- Munroe.
Additionally, the strategy outlined that the committee must examine and give their approval in writing for each of the projects.
According to the guideline, as part of the process, contractors would be paid upon examination and satisfaction of projects by the committee.
The city engineer must also sign off relevant documents upon the completion of all projects in the fifteen constituencies.
Additionally, the strategy outlined that fifty per cent of the workforce where manual labour is required should be made up of residents of the communities in which the works are executed.
Further to that, an officer will be assigned by the City Treasurer (Ag) to deal specifically with payment arrangement to contractors within the city treasurers department.
“Three quotations must be submitted to the city treasurers for the execution of works or the supply of goods and serviced to the constituency projects.
And petty contracts will be done for all projects within the local community using the allocation of $57,688,022 given to the council by the Central Government. Payment to contractors would be made five days after the works have been executed and upon request by the contractors.”
In recent remarks to the council, the Town Clerk specifically highlighted sections of the Municipal District and Council’s Act, which deals with the terms and conditions that a member of the Council, who might be interested in a specific contract, can benefit.
Alluding to Section Seventy (70), subsection (1) of the Municipal District and Council’s Act Chapter 28:01, the Town Clerk outlined “if any councillor has any pecuniary interests in the contract, direct or indirect including (proposed contracts) or any other matter, he shall at the meeting, as soon as practicable after the commencement, disclose the fact and shall not take part in the consideration or discussion of, or vote on any question with respect to the contract and any other matter.
“Provided this section shall not apply to an interest in a contract or any other matter, which a councillor may have a ratepayer or inhabitant of the council area or as an ordinary consumer of electricity or water or any matter relating to the terms on which the right to participate in any service including the supply of goods, is offered to the public.
For the purposes of this section, a councillor shall be deemed to have an indirect pecuniary interest in the contract or other matter;
If he or any nominee of his is a member of a company or other body with, which the contract is made or is proposed to be made or which has a direct pecuniary in other matter under consideration; or he is a partner or is in the employment of a person with whom the contract is made or who has a direct pecuniary interest in the other matter under consideration.”
King simplified therefore that law does not prohibit members of the Council from benefiting from projects, “all that this means is that Councillors must disclose whether they may have a financial interest in a specific project or matter.”

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