Vice Chairman of Region Five, Rian Pieters is optimistic that the current impasse which exists between the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition will be resolved very shortly.
Chairman Vickchand Ramphal
The two sides are in disagreement over whether Ovid Morrison, who is the Clerk of Council and also the Regional Executive Officer (REO), can perform the duties as Clerk outside of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
Additionally, the appointment of three new Councillors has caused the RDC to be at a standstill over the past three sittings.
According to Pieters, a mediation mechanism has been put in place which could result in the two sides reaching an agreement.
“I have spoken to the Chief Whips of both sides and at this point, at some [point], the issue will be resolved,” Pieters told reporters following Thursday’s RDC meeting which he was forced to adjourn.
Vice Chairman of Region Five, Rian Pieters
When the May meeting was called to order, Chairman Vickchand Ramphal said he saw three persons at the horseshoe and was told that they were new Councillors who took the oath of office before Morrison at a private ceremony.
Ramphal argued then that Morrison did not have the authority in his capacity as REO to perform the ceremony but Morrison and the coalition Councillors felt otherwise and supported Morrison’s walkout.
The three persons are Frank Wilson, Emerson Benjamin and Marian Fordyce who replaced Carol Joseph and Dolston Huston, who resigned, and Renie McCalmont, who never took her seat.
Pieters on Thursday acknowledged that independently, the RDC has been unable to resolve several issues.
“The one that would have caused today’s meeting to be adjourned, was the one that seems to suggest that the Councillors were not properly sworn in and then they were placed around this horseshoe, occupying positions as if elected members of the Regional Democratic Council. This is a clear contradiction of our legislation,” Pieters said, while adding that he wants the three persons to occupy their seats but it must be done legally.
“It is my view and my hope that the Clerk of Council will understand his role as it relates to his legal mandate to the Council.
It is the consul that makes the policies channels general direction and it is not the bureaucrats that direct the Council.”
He said that as an elected member of the Council, he will not condone any breach of the regulations which govern how individuals become Councillors.
He added that as Vice Chairman of the RDC, he remains committed to ensuring that the basic services are provided to all the people of the region.
“We are committed to development as residents of this region and as a region, we can only move forward by abiding by the regulations that would direct us along the path that we all want the follow.”
