Commission refutes Mayor’s false reports

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION (LGC) IS CONCERNED WITH THE
SPATE OF FALSE REPORTS put out by Mayor Ubraj Singh about the ongoing controversy
over its appointment of Town Clerk (ag) of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of the
country’s capital city, Georgetown.
The LGC in a detailed press statement sought to clarify the brouhaha created with its
appointment of Ms. Candace Nelson to act as Town Clerk of the M&CC, effectively sending
back Ms. Sherry Jerrick to her substantive position of Assistant Town Clerk.
The statement explained that “Ms. Sherry Jerrick was appointed on July 29, 2019, by the LGC to
act as Town Clerk of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown. This acting
appointment was a non- permanent one and for an unspecified period. No expressed or implied
representations were made on behalf of the LGC to Ms. Jerrick that this acting appointment
should be interpreted as a prelude to permanently occupying such a position,” the Commission
explained.
It said contrary to erroneous public statements, the Commission’s decision was unanimous.
“Due to concerns related to the performance of her duties as Town Clerk (acting), a decision was
taken at the level of the LGC that the work of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of
Georgetown would be best served by Ms. Jerrick reverting to her substantive position of
Assistant Town Clerk. This decision enjoyed the unanimous support of all seven (7)
Commissioners present at the Commission’s 5th Statutory Meeting held on Tuesday, July 27,
2021.”
It continued, “This unanimous decision was binding upon the Commission. As such, it was
empowered to take all necessary action to give effect to the Commissioners' decision, including
appointing a successor to Ms. Jerrick since the critical position of Town Clerk could not remain
vacant”.
“Furthermore, this unanimous decision of the LGC is consistent with the powers ascribed to it by
section 13 of the Local Government Commission Act, No. 18 of 2013, which clearly vests the
LGC as the sole entity in Guyana with the power to deal with all matters relating to the
regulation and staffing of local government organs, which includes the Mayor and Council of the

City of Georgetown. Consequentially, the decision of the LGC to appoint Ms. Candace Nelson to
act as Town Clerk constitutes a valid exercise of its statutory functions through the same process
employed by the LGC in the past to appoint successive acting Town Clerks, including Ms.
Jerrick herself,” the LGC release explained.
Its decisions are independently reached without external pressures, the release said.
“These Commissioners are dedicated professionals who bring a wealth of knowledge and
integrity to the Commission as they perform their duties in a transparent and fully independent
manner as is required by Section 3 (2) of the Local Government Commission Act, which
prohibits the Commission from receiving directions on the exercise of its functions from any
external body,” it said.
Then it castigated Mayor Narine.
“The course of action embarked upon by the Mayor, His Worship Ubraj Narine, in deliberately
peddling demonstrably false and misleading statements in the public domain must be viewed as
an attempt to discredit the work of the eight Commissioners of the LGC and to bring the
Commission into disrepute. The LGC wishes to reiterate that it has always executed and
continues to exercise its mandate within the confines of the relevant legislative framework”.
The Commission, the release emphasised, will respect the jurisdiction of the court.
“It continues to do so even as this matter is currently engaging the courts. As such, the
Commission has taken the decision to respect the jurisdiction of the courts and not litigate these
issues in the public domain. Nevertheless, until a court of competent jurisdiction has issued a
formal pronouncement on these issues, the Local Government Commission will continue to
perform its legal mandate and work with those persons who are desirous of improving the local
government system in Guyana.”