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Mahdia loses confidence in Town Clerk weeks after appointment
The Mayor and Town Councillors of Mahdia, Region Eight, has refuted allegations that race or youth influenced the decision to terminate the services of 21-year-old Town Clerk, Hakeem Wong.
Mayor David Adams
Wong, who happens to be the stepson of Mahdia businessman, Roger Hinds, was hired on April 1, last to be the Town Clerk of that brand-new town.
Within days, he was clashing with the council, Mayor David Adams.
It was not long before the Local Government Commission was involved and asked to intervene.
Wong reportedly claimed that he was targeted because he was young and that he was an Indian.
However, Adams, who hails from the farming islands of Wakenaam, Essequibo Islands, was adamant that those factors played no role.
He explained that Mahdia Town Council started operations on January 1, after being named a town last year.
The administration immediately advertised for staffers, including for a Town Clerk.
“We had little resources. The qualification for a Town Clerk position is a Bachelor’s Degree.
The Town Council took a deliberate decision to recruit persons from the township of Mahdia itself as then we did not have to find accommodation. The idea was that we would train and build capacity.”
Adams said that a number of the persons hired for the Town Council did not meet the criteria.
Mahdia Town Clerk, Hakeem Wong, being welcomed earlier this year by Mayor David Adams
Wong was one of them.
During his first week, the Town Clerk was tasked with organizing a special meeting to discuss a number of internal matters of the council.
He, however, went ahead and invited the public.
According to Adams, the Town Clerk insisted that the public be invited because the laws say so.
However, the Mayor noted that the laws also allow for the public not to be present when certain matters are being discussed.
During that meeting, there was a clash, in the presence of a Member of Parliament, Gloria Bancroft.
“I called him the next week and guided him in his responsibilities and he said he won’t do it again. The very next week, there was another meeting and there was the same attitude of defiance and disrespect. We told him if this is the disrespect so early in the tenure then we would be unwilling to work with him. He asked on what grounds.”
According to Mayor Adams, Wong was unable to comprehend that he was still on his three months of probation.
“He continued in the attitude. He even refused to carry out instructions of the council. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when I was in Georgetown to tie up our financing arrangements. He was asked to prepare a document. He refused saying he is suspicious. We lost an entire week on that matter. He approached council the next week, and apologized.”
However, according to Adams, by then, the new council was exasperated.
They sought advice from the Local Government Commission which provided copies of the termination laws for workers.
“Armed with that, we called a statutory meeting, and moved a motion to have him removed.
The vote was 5-3 for the services of the Town Clerk to be terminated. The minutes and covering letter were sent to the Local Government Commission.”
According to the Mayor, the commission asked Wong to respond.
“He did and the Commission found him culpable. On 28th June he received his letter of termination.”
According to Adams, the issue that Wong claimed that youths are being stifled is far from the truth.
“The fact is that the majority of staffers we hired for the township are below the age of 30. We look for ability. We wanted to build capacity. I am from Wakenaam. We grew up not knowing race. The fact is that I recommended this guy against reservations of Councillors who were nervous about him. I had to apologise about that.”
Adams said he overlooked the fact that Wong had even been let go by his parents who run a hotel in Mahdia.
“We believe in youths. I thought to give him a chance. Discrimination because of race did not play a role. He was let go because of his inability to carry out the functions on behalf of the Town Council of Mahdia.”
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