3 new Councillors take up positions in Region Five RDC

Three new councillors have taken up positions in Region Five’s (Mahaica-Berbice) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) but were not given recognition, forcing the April RDC meeting to be adjourned.
The adjournment made it the 15th consecutive month that the RDC has not been able to hold a successful statutory meeting. Additionally, over the past three years, only a few successful monthly meetings were held.
In 2016, coalition councillors refused to allow any dialogue at the statutory meeting, saying that they wanted the Regional Chairman, Vickchand Ramphal, to apologise to President David Granger. In December of that year, however, the President said he wanted no apology and ordered the two sides to work together for the betterment of the region.
In May 2017, they walked out after the Regional Executive Officer (REO), Ovid Morrison, demanded an apology from the Chairman.
The REO said his creditability was at stake after the Chairman called for an investigation into allegations that two NDC officials had used a National Drainage and Irrigation Authority machine to carry out personal work. Morrison said he saw the machine being used and is of the opinion that since he stated that he saw the machine carrying out personal work, no investigation is needed and calling for an investigation is an insult to his integrity.
The standoff continued until December of that year when both sides agreed to give residents a New Year’s gift of them sitting during 2018 to bring resolutions to some of the many issues affecting the region.
That promise was short lived.
At the April 2019 meeting, Chairman Ramphal said he saw three persons sitting in the meeting and was told moments before that they were new councillors.
The three new councillors are Frank Wilson, Emerson Benjamin and Marian Fordyce who replaced Carol Joseph, Dolston Huston, who resigned, and Renie McCalmont, who never took her seat.
All three councillors are from the coalition.
The Region Five RDC has eighteen seats with the coalition occupying eight.
Ramphal said the agenda which was set by the REO did not indicate that new councillors were to be introduced.
The announcement by the Chairman resulted in a heated debate and after some time, the Chairman adjourned the meeting saying that it was going nowhere.
Addressing the media after the RDC meeting, Ramphal said that when he arrived, he saw the three persons and upon inquiring he was told that they are new councillors.
“It is customary that whenever a new councillor is appointed to the Council the information will be shared with the Chairman and councillors.”
He added that he was surprised that the REO, as Clerk of Council, would have sworn in three councillors without informing the Chairman or the RDC.
He explained that the meeting was adjourned after coalition councillors heavily rejected what he said and as a result of showing no respect to the standing orders which govern the RDC. He added that he was also being disrespected.