Hard choices have to be made says Deputy City Mayor in light of Auditor General report

City Hall’s Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan is of the view that the time has come for persons at the Council to be sent packing if they cannot effectively carry out their duties. He says mismanagement and lack of transparency should not be the order of the day at City Hall.

For years the Georgetown Municipality has struggled with its financing and now with a new council, much has not changed, based on a recent audit report.

The Deputy Mayor feels that some hard choices should be made when it comes to fixing the age old issue of mismanagement and transparency.

He says once tax payer’s monies are unaccounted for, it must not be swept under the carpet and those in authority should be held accountable for such discrepancy under their watch.

The Auditor General’s report examine the $300M which was allotted for City’s restoration project that ended December 31 last year. It was highlighted in the audit that over 200 payment vouchers contained discrepancies either with no evidence of the payment being certified by the accountant or any other authorized officer.

“The town Clerk is a chief administrating officer, of City Hall and so this falls squarely at the feet of the Town Clerk and the Town Clerk must be accountable for what happens under his watch. The city treasurer office also falls directly under the office of the Town Clerk and this is just another instance of clear mismanagement and in my view, the Town Clerk should go and the city Treasurer.” Duncan said.

He further noted that the Council should not be plagued by scandal after scandal following the behaviour of one of its employees holding such a top position.

According to Duncan while the findings are shocking, it comes as no surprise and only puts City Hall in a bad light once again.

After speaking with the Deputy Mayor News Room sought a comment from Town Clarke Royston King but was informed by his secretary that he was unavailable and his phone went straight to voice mail.