|
Minister of Local Government Norman Whittaker has expressed support for Town Clerk (Ag) Carol Sooba and her Administrative staff to take over the sale and distribution of vending spots for the upcoming Mashramani celebrations.While the Mayor and Councillors say that the Social Development Committee currently, headed by Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green has,Teddy Bridgewater Louisville Jersey, since 1994, under the leadership of Philomena Sahoye-Shury been responsible for the sale of those spots, the Minister, who has joined in the dispute between the Executive and Administrative arms of the Council, say it is “highly irregular” for the revenue earning activity to be “executed/managed from the Mayor’s Office.”The Minister in a public missive said that “the activity must be viewed as an economic project that ought to be administered and supervised from the Office of the Town Clerk (Ag) or the City Treasurer’s Office; under the direction and supervision of the Town Clerk (Ag).” He said it is a revenue garnering opportunity for the Council; not for individuals of the Council.“The Town Clerk is the Chief Executive Officer of the Council, responsible to the Council to ensure, inter alia, that all financial activities/events, are strictly monitored to ensure they are approved by the authorized authority, recorded, transparent and not done in an ad hoc fashion, devoid of transparency and/or in breach of financial or other regulations. There is no executive function or authority reposed in the Mayor or his Office or the Council itself. They cannot usurp the duties and responsibilities of the Town Clerk or City Treasurer,” the Minister charged.According to him, the issue of sales have to do with the issuing of valid Council receipts for monies collected from the public; recording of these sums collected in the financial records of the Council; providing financial statements summarizing the revenue, authorized expenditure and surplus from these activities. “There are Officers authorized by the Municipal and District Councils Act to deal with these financial matters and they are certainly not the Mayor or Councillors randomly selected.”The Minister reminded of a letter to the Mayor and Town Clerk in 2013 and again in 2014 expressing concern about reports pointing to several anomalies with respect to the implementation of Council’s decision by the Social Development Committee of the Council. These included claims of “free spots or discounts on spots for family,Gorgui Dieng Louisville Jersey, friends and specific Organisations.” “There were also issues of Persons/Organisations who were tardy in paying and those who had to wait for lengthy periods to be paid”.It was noted also that financial records reveal that since the event is being managed by the Town Clerk’s Office, the net revenue to the Council has increased significantly. He said while the Council may wish to have a Committee, by whatever name it is called, to oversee the sale of spots and other related activities; it is the City Treasurer, acting under the direction and supervision of the Town Clerk who must manage these activities for transparency and accountability,Tyrann Mathieu LSU Jersey, which require the separation of the roles of policy formulation and policy implementation.The Deputy Mayor, who said that she is in the process of writing the Minister, believes that he is totally misguided in the handling of this activity. Green said that the Minister should know that the sale of Mashramani spots was never an economic event,Josh Jackson Kansas Jersey, but a social one since the revenue garnered has always been used to support social development activities since its inception dating as far back as 1994.Under the leadership of Sahoye-Shury,Miami Hurricanes Jerseys, the Deputy Mayor said a special account was opened for the funds which were used to support various social activities, such as, City Hall’s light up,Ray Lewis Miami Jersey, contributing to the Mash parade of the Council’s daycares and aid to elderly persons among others.The Deputy Mayor said that the Minister should also realize that the Council is managed by a number of committees which take the advice of its officers. “It’s only since the Town Clerk’s tenure that in 2013 she attempted to change what is a tradition for the Social Development Committee.”In relation to increased Mash sale revenue under Sooba, Chase-Green said this is so because the size of vending spots has been reduced, while the prices charged have increased drastically. She said small vendors were being charged between $5000-$20,000 for spots while major companies paid $200,000 to $400,Denard Robinson Michigan Jersey,000. Under Sooba, small vendors are charged $15,Cheap Authentic Jerseys,000 and larger entities as much as $800,000.The Council has decided however,Patrick Peterson LSU Jersey, that this year there will be no sale of vending spots. This decision was supposed to be decided at Council’s Statutory meeting on Monday, but the Town Clerk allegedly failed to print agendas and was absent to open the chambers.The Social Development Committee’s office is located in the Mayoral section of the Council and citizens are advised to go there for information. However, Sooba has reportedly said that citizens have to come to her office and speak to her officers for the purchase of spots. |
|