Region 6 RDC sitting collapses amid dispute over uncirculated motion

A statutory meeting of the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) was brought to an abrupt end on Thursday after opposition councillors objected to a motion being placed before the council without copies being circulated in advance, triggering a breakdown in proceedings and forcing the chair to close the sitting without a vote.
The motion, presented by Councillor Shaun Smith, sought to address the use of “urgent matters” on the RDC’s agenda, arguing that the classification was being misapplied and routinely used to bypass standing and sectoral committee scrutiny.
According to the motion, items that did not require immediate attention were repeatedly being elevated to urgent status, undermining participatory decision-making, technical review and orderly governance.

However, moments after the motion was read, opposition councillors objected strongly, insisting that while a notice of motion may have been issued, the full document itself was never shared with councillors ahead of the meeting.
Opposition councillor Mehalai McAlmont said councillors could not reasonably be expected to debate or vote on a motion they had not seen.
“Whatever the motion was, it should have been shared prior to the beginning of this session,” McAlmont told the meeting. She argued that councillors were being asked to respond to a document that had already been discussed by others, without being afforded the opportunity to properly review it themselves.

She added that while notice was given, the absence of the actual motion was unacceptable.
McAlmont further questioned why councillors were being placed in that position when the document was, by her description, only two pages long. “Why are we here now when we don’t have a copy of that motion in front of us? It is a two-pager,” she said, describing the situation as unfair and stressing that the RDC chamber is a public space where proper procedure must be upheld.
Opposition councillor Colin Moore rose in support of McAlmont’s objections, telling the chair that the process being followed was fundamentally flawed. Moore said councillors were being asked to consider a motion that none of them had received in written form.
“The gentleman is here now reading from some paper that none of the council here have a copy of,” Moore said, questioning how councillors could, “in all fairness,” be asked to vote on a motion without knowing its contents. Moore maintained that by law, a copy of a motion must be submitted to the council and argued that proceeding otherwise violated basic procedural standards.
As objections intensified, multiple councillors attempted to speak at the same time, raising points of order and disputing whether the motion could lawfully be put to the floor. Efforts to restore order proved unsuccessful, with crosstalk and interruptions preventing the meeting from moving forward.

With the council unable to regain control of proceedings, the regional chairman brought the statutory meeting to an end. No vote was taken on the motion, and all remaining agenda items were left unaddressed.

Misuse of “Matters of Urgent Public Interest”
According to the resolution, the “Matters of Urgent Public Interest” item was originally intended to address genuinely urgent regional matters requiring immediate attention and which could not reasonably await the next statutory meeting or committee review. However, the document states that repeated use of the item has resulted in “procedural abuse”, transforming it into an instrument for absenteeism, the introduction of non-urgent matters, political speeches, partisan commentary and other activities inconsistent with the item’s stated purpose.
The resolution further notes that this misuse has contributed to disruptions in the conduct of statutory business, extended debates unrelated to urgent regional concerns, and reduced meeting efficiency. It also argues that bypassing committee review has weakened participatory democracy, technical scrutiny and collective decision-making within the RDC.
“Whereas the RDC has a responsibility to ensure that all matters brought before the Council follow proper procedure, pass through the appropriate committees, and receive informed analysis, except in cases of genuine emergency as defined by law or established Council policy,” Smith read.
The resolution proposes that, with immediate effect, the agenda item “Matters of Urgent Public Interest” be removed from the standard agenda of all RDC meetings. In its place, the Council would adopt and implement a formal “Notice of Urgent Motion Procedure” to govern the introduction of matters requiring immediate consideration.
Under the proposed procedure, any councillor seeking to raise a matter of urgency would be required to submit a written Notice of Urgent Motion to the Clerk of Council prior to the commencement of the meeting. The councillor would also be required to provide a clear and concise statement explaining the nature of the urgency and to demonstrate that the matter cannot reasonably be deferred to the next statutory meeting or referred to the relevant committee without causing harm to public welfare, administrative functioning or regional operations.
The resolution assigns responsibility to the Chairperson of the RDC, acting in consultation with the Clerk where necessary, to determine whether a submitted notice meets the established criteria for urgency and to approve or reject its inclusion on the agenda.
It further specifies that only four categories would constitute valid grounds for an urgent motion. These are imminent threats to public health, safety or welfare; critical administrative deadlines that cannot await committee review; emergencies, natural disasters or sudden events requiring immediate Council intervention; and legal or regulatory obligations necessitating urgent action by the RDC.
“All other matters shall be referred to the appropriate RDC committee, in keeping with established procedures for sectoral review, public consultation, and informed deliberation,” the resolution states.
The motion also provides for its implementation, instructing the Clerk of Council to update all standard agenda templates, communicate the revised procedure to councillors and administrative staff, and ensure compliance with the resolution at all future meetings.
The collapse of Thursday’s sitting once again highlighted deep procedural divisions within the Region Six RDC, with opposition councillors insisting that proper governance requires transparency and prior circulation of motions, while the motion’s proponents maintained that the issue being raised was RDC Moves to Scrap ‘Urgent Public Interest’ Agenda Item, Citing Procedural Abuse.