Acting Chair of the Pomeroon-Supenaam region is accusing Regional Executive Officer (REO), Dennis Jaikaran of sabotaging her since she is currently executing her functions without being afforded the courtesy of office space.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) Dennis Jaikaran
Regional Vice Chair, Nandranie Coonjah, who is acting on behalf of Regional Chair, said she is very much disappointed with the dictatorship attitude of Jaikaran, whom she accused of sabotaging her office as Regional Vice Chairman and Chairman (acting).
Coonjah told Guyana Times that the office of the Regional Vice Chairman, which is located in the engineering compound in Anna Regina, was scheduled for general repairs this year and as such, she received a letter to that effect from the REO in March. She added that she got her cleaner to assist her in packing all regional documents along with her personal belongings and was waiting to be relocated but to her surprise, on Friday her office was broken into by the Regional Superintendent and all documents including her personal belongings were removed.
Regional Vice Chair Nandranie Coonjah
Coonjah said that the REO also locked the Regional Chairman’s office which is located in the Regional Democratic Council’s building and presently, she has no office space to execute her functions. The elected official accused the REO of sabotaging her ability to function effectively. She went on to add that Jaikaran is constantly walking out of the meetings and she feels that corruption may be the reason that he behaves the way he does.
Earlier this year, her driver and vehicle were taken away by the REO and her travelling allowance, when submitted, is not being approved.
Coonjah said that she made an official report to the police at Anna Regina because she fears that there may be a ploy to tamper with her documents. Also, a letter was dispatched to the Minister of Communities.
This is not the first time an incident of such nature has occurred in the region. In May, there was a showdown between Jaikaran and Alliance For Change (AFC) Regional Councillor, Nathram which ended with the police being called to the Regional Democratic Council Office.
Reports were that Nathram was in an office, which is under the Regional Finance Department and located inside the Regional Compound, when he was padlocked within the building by Jaikaran.
According to Nathram, he was inside his office when the REO placed a padlock on his office door from the outside, locking him in the office.
Guyana Times was told that Nathram then called the police, who went to the compound and finally opened the door. The AFC Councillor had claimed that the incident stemmed from an incident that occurred at the sitting of the RDC. He said that at that meeting, he questioned the attitude of the REO towards the acting Regional Chairman, Nandranie Coonjah – after the REO failed to recognise her. Nathram claimed that since the incident, the REO has instructed the security guards not to allow his vehicle to enter the compound.
However, Jaikaran said he wrote Nathram about two weeks before the incident, indicating that he needed to vacate his office to facilitate renovations. He said he told the Councillor that he would be temporarily housed inside another office until the renovation work is complete. According to Jaikaran, Nathram was not complying and he was forced to put a padlock on the door because there are very important documents and equipment stored in the said office space.
