Port Mourant residents, NDC staff continue protest against overseer

Residents of Port Mourant and staff of the Johns/Port Mourant Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) on Thursday picketed the NDC office, demanding that the overseer be removed. This publication understands that the overseer is not on suspension, as the NDC Chairman had told the media on Wednesday.
The protest started yesterday when staff turned up at the NDC office and found the front door open. It had not been closed when Overseer Boodmattie Ramnarine left on Monday afternoon. Her office was locked.

At the NDC statutory meeting on Tuesday, she was asked to hand over the keys, but never did. When the workers turned up at the office on Wednesday and found that the rate collectors’ door was also locked and the overseer had the keys, advice was sought from the Ministry of Communities, and permission was given to break open that door.
There have been complaints that persons were going to the office to make payments but were being turned away because staff had no access to that part of the building. “I received no information about the business of the overseer, and the business of the NDC is still suffering, to some extent. We have access to the rates collectors’ office, but most of the files and information are locked in the overseer’s office. We don’t have any access to that (office). The monies collected from since Monday have not been sent to the bank as yet. The overseer has some in her possession and some are in her office. It is the overseer’s responsibility to collect those monies and deposit (them),” NDC Chairman Ishwar Narinesammy said during Thursday midday’s protest.
Overseer Ramnarine, who was once dismissed from the NDC and rehired under the current administration, had been suspended since her reappointment, but the Ministry of Communities overturned the suspension. The overseer has been accused of assaulting staff members, collecting revenue and not issuing receipts, and asking vendors to lie about the issue. Also charged with assault, the overseer showed up at the office yesterday afternoon, but the NDC Chairman says a file containing accusations of her physically and verbally abusing staff members has been sent to the ministry.
The overseer showed up at the office during the afternoon hours, and began to work.