Some do not want the Region 5 chairman to succeed

May 24, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
With the resignation of the former oligarch of Region 5, I had hoped that those elected to serve the people would finally put aside their confrontational behaviour to finally bring real development to the region. But it seems like the other contemptuous Councillor and the thin-skinned REO are determined to continue the disruptive agenda of non-cooperation with the Regional Chairman.
Let me make my position emphatically clear, I am not writing this letter in defence of the Regional Chairman, for I was not present at the RDC statutory meeting when the APNU+AFC Councillor, Abel Seetaram registered his complaint to the Regional Chairman about the misuse of NDIA equipment. But I write to express my profound disgust at what is clearly a deliberate continuous effort to stymie development in Region 5 to make the PPP-controlled NDCs look bad.
For seven long months in 2016, the now disgraced former APNU+AFC Councillor Carol Joseph, aided and abetted by the despicable RDC Councillor Abel Seetaram, successfully spear-headed a boycott of the RDC statutory meetings which crippled all forms of development in the region. All because Joseph thought the Regional Chairman, Vickchand Ramphall had been disrespectful to the President when he failed to attend a handing-over ceremony he was not invited to. This lawlessness was encouraged by the REO, Mr. Ovid Morrison, who uses the power of the purse to manipulate and dictate which communities in Region 5 are more deserving of attention, to accomplish the APNU+AFC objectives in the Region.
The way I see it, this “crises” could have been avoided if protocol was followed. An APNU+AFC Councillor, Abel Seetaram, a well-known trouble-maker, received information that an RDC excavator on loan to the Bath / Woodley Park NDC, was being misused for private use. Instead of reporting this to the Regional Chairman as protocol dictates, he went to see the REO, Mr. Ovid Morrison.
Without informing the Regional Chairman, and without inviting him to the scene of the “crime”, Morrison accompanied Seetaram to the location where the excavator was operating and photos were taken. In a statement made by Seetaram during the April sitting of the RDC Statutory Meeting, he reported the misuse of the excavator and offered to produce the photos he had taken. The REO confirmed that he too were there, giving credibility to Seetaram’s complaint.
In response, the Regional Chairman, Vickchand Ramphall requested that an investigation be held into this allegation before any pronouncement on the matter can be made. The APNU+AFC Councillors did not approve of the Chairman’s request, as they believe the photos and the REO’s admission of being there, should be enough not to warrant an investigation of any kind. But when the Chairman insisted on an investigation, the REO thought his integrity was being questioned, and threatened to walk out if the Chairman did not offer an apology to him.
He subsequently left the meeting, followed by the APNU+AFC Councillors. The Regional Democratic Council must be guided by Parliamentary Practices. And whenever allegations are brought before the Council, an investigation must be conducted before any action is taken. If indeed the excavator was being misused, then Abel Seetaram was obligated to bring this to the attention of the Council. But he mischievously and deliberately violated protocol when he reported the incident to the REO instead of informing the Regional Chairman as Councillors are obligated to do. Had he done so, this entire fiasco would have been avoided.
Residents of Region 5 are faced with serious issues which require the attention of the RDC: Most of the farm-to-market roads and streets within the ten Neighbourhood Democratic Councils are in a deplorable state. Health Centres are in need of repairs. Medical equipment and supplies are short. Our schools are in a deplorable state and in need of urgent attention. Yet every little thing seems to escalate into a constitutional crisis that demands an apology, with total disregard for the need to deliberate on the people’s business, and to come up with real solutions that would bring much needed relief to the people of Region 5.
I must remind REO, Ovid Morrison that if he had taken the time, and objectively investigate allegations of drug abuse by Carol Joseph, he would not have given instructions to have Staff Nurse/Midwife Sheriyn Marks transferred from the Fort Wellington Hospital with immediate effect. And he would have discovered that those who pushed him to make that decision are the ones guilty of perpetrating and covering up a situation to protect a person who has a drug reliance problem.. But then again, he may have already known that.
The Regional Chairman owes the REO no apology. But I will encourage him to do so when the Attorney General, the Hon Basil Williams apologize to High Court Judge, Justice Franklin Holder, and when Morrison is remorseful enough to transfer Staff Nurse/Midwife Sheriyn Marks back to Fort Wellington Hospital where she belongs, and issues a public apology for the pain and suffering he has caused this model civil servant whom we should all be proud of.
HARRY GILL
PPP/C Member of Parliament

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