‘Dysfunctional’ RDC refrain from scrutinising region’s spending

Over the past few weeks, members of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) have been unable to meet and plan programmes to improve the lives of residents and farmers in the Administrative District, many of whom are suffered the impact of intense flooding.

Regional Executive Officer (REO) Ovid Morrison was quoted on Wednesday by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying that the region has started clearing canals with the assistance of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and Mahaica-Mahaicony – Abary-Agricultural Development

Authority (MMA-ADA).

However, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal believes that the council not being able to hold meetings could lead the way for financial improprieties to flourish as the administration’s spending cannot be scrutinised.

“I want to believe that it is a deliberate act on behalf of those who are not allowing our statutory meetings to go through so they can keep away these financial records and documents and spend the money the way they feel like…once the council cannot scrutinise the spending of the administration, there is room for corruption,” Ramphal told Guyana Times at Onverwagt on Tuesday.

He conceded that the Region Five RDC is dysfunctional due to the differences between the council and the region’s administration.

“Yes I would say that it is dysfunctional because we cannot sit at our statutory meeting and make solid and proper decisions for the people of this region. There is a disconnect between the regional administration and regional democratic council. The council is the body that makes decisions for the region and thereafter the administration needs to execute those decisions but that is not happening presently,” the Chairman pointed out.

He noted too that Morrison has not been providing evidence of region’s spending.

The Chairman called on the regional official to prize the neutrality of the public

position that he holds.

“The REO is supposed to be a neutral individual and execute his duties in a very professional manner and not be biased on any side but apparently, he wants to be a policy maker and I would say to him if he wants to do so, he should come off and leave the office and then maybe join the council,” the Region Five Chairman stressed.

He expressed hope that central Government could intervene to bring the situation to normalcy. Ramphall wrote Morrison last Saturday requesting a meeting, after the heavy rainfall in the region but the Chairman claimed that official has not signaled any indication to meet with him.

The REO is claiming that the Chairman should apologise to him for asking for an investigation to be launched into the alleged misuse of an excavator in an NDC.

“I would say the right procedure is to launch an investigation and we can take an example from Parliament where the speaker had launched an investigation into the drug bond issue while Parliament was in session and the findings came back to parliament. I was trying to do something at the regional level to have a six member ad-hoc committee to investigate the alleged misuse of the excavator,” Ramphall stated.

Earlier this month, the refusal of the REO to sign on the bank accounts had resulted in the 10 NDCs in the region not being able to spend money in areas that were critical and in need of emergency works for drainage and irrigation, along with the maintenance of roads and other infrastructures.