Region 6 Chairman calls for Councillors to resign

As coalition Councillors continue to stay away from Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meetings in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Regional Chairman David Armogan has made a strong call for them to resign.
The RDC has 25 seats; 19 to the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and 11 to the coalition. At Thursday’s meeting, only five coalition Councillors were present and only three made contributions to the success of the meeting.
Under the Local Government Act, Councillors should lose their seats if they are absent for three consecutive meetings without a valid excuse. One of the coalition Councillors is currently on sick leave.
According to Armogan, many of those who frequently stay away from meetings fail to realise that they have to serve the people who elected them to office.
He then called on Janet Samuels and Khausal Goberdhan to resign, sighting their frequent absenteeism. Armogan noted that they need to resign and give others a chance to serve as regional Councillors.
Back in August, both the PPP and the Alliance For Change had called on coalition Councillors to attend meetings, noting that more than 70 per cent of them have been absent from RDC meetings.
Regional Chairman David Armogan and several PPP Councillors said they were disappointed at the attitude of some of the coalition Councillors towards the regional parliament.
Coalition Councillor Gobin Harbhajan has also lashed out at his colleagues and called for them to do the honourable thing and tender their resignation.
Harbhajan reminded the RDC that Councillors should automatically lose their seats after being absent for three consecutive meetings with a valid excuse. He says there are others who should be given a chance to serve.
He told the RDC that he was disappointed with the actions of his colleagues. Despite this trend, the RDC has not used its right to revoke the seats of any Councillor.