President Jagdeo and PNCR leader, Robert Corbin have agreed to dissolve the Linden Town Council and to install an interim management committee.

Corbin travelled to Linden yesterday to explain this decision to residents.

The committee should be in place by the weekend as an investigation into irregularities at the municipality gets underway.

Briefing residents and officials, Corbin said the arrangement was made possible due to the engagement between the government and the PNCR, and was being advanced as a result of calls by councillors to have Mayor Stan Smith removed.

Smith who has been the town’s mayor since 1996 had successfully avoided attempts to remove him from office two years ago when, after agreeing to resign following a no-confidence motion by the council, he had changed his mind two days later.

Corbin, along with other high-ranking party executives had on a visit to the town on Sunday, met with councillors and had thanked them for their services along with their patience and tolerance in having the matter dealt with.

Corbin was yesterday engaged in rounds of meetings with residents and other persons on matters including the council problem, the Linden Mining Enterprise and Guyana Water Inc.

Meanwhile some striking council workers will be paid today after funds were acquired from Linmine following representation by Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo.

The situation came to a head in part because the town is overflowing with garbage, especially in the business community on the Wismar and Mackenzie shores, as workers of the municipality continued their strike action.

Approximately two weeks ago they downed tools due to the non-payment of salaries to monthly workers for August 2003, the non-functioning of the council and poor administration, and raised various charges against the beleaguered mayor.

Employees, Acting Town Clerk Floyd Patterson and councillors complained that on September 3 at a sitting of the council, Mayor Smith was abusive to Deputy Mayor Claudette Martin-Smart in the presence of workers and a few councillors.

Smith, when asked about the incident, refused to discuss it. When Stabroek News contacted Martin-Smart regarding the allegation, she also declined to comment. However, she has tendered her resignation.

Workers for the council said that they would not return to work until government officials and other leaders talked with them. “Imagine we ain’t get pay and nat a soul had de common courtesy to come and tell us something... not even a lil lie for get we fo work... Nobody aint kay bout us. Believe it or not I hold a big position in de health department and does carry home $15,000 when de month come... So it gan bigger than just non-payment of August, we want proper salaries... Dis council must be dissolved. Stan Smith must go or we ain’t working and that is final.”

They also complained about the poor working conditions, including dilapidated office furniture, leaking roofs, inadequate material and in most cases obsolete office equipment.

In an interview, Mayor Smith said that he was aware of the issues affecting the council as it regarded non-payment of salaries and other issues. He said councillors had been absenting themselves from meetings and there was never a quorum to get things done. He declined to comment on the allegations he had verbally abused the Deputy Mayor, but said that she was never supportive of him as a deputy. “My deputy is always on the other side.” He blamed much of the poor administration on Patterson.

As for the strike, “The monthly workers have not been paid for August because there is not adequate funds to pay them.” Smith said that property owners had not been paying up their rates and taxes and as such income generation had been very poor for some time. He noted that a team had been set up to speed up the rates and taxes collection drive but this had not had much success due to poor administration.

When asked about his relationship with the workers at the council, Smith said that he had previously arranged for a meeting with the workers but no one had turned up. “I will not be calling another meeting with them because they seem to not be interested.” Smith said on many occasions he had attempted to discipline workers but did not get the support of the council.