PPP councillors boycott Region Six budget meeting

Jul 30, 2019 News

Yesterday, at the Regional Democratic Council Region Six boardroom, Regional Executive Officer, Kim Williams –Stephens, hosted a ‘discussion’ on the 2020 regional budget with APNU/AFC Councillors and the engineering department of the region in attendance. However, absent from the activity were all the councillors from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic side.

APNU/AFC Councillors in ‘discussion’ with the REO.

Before the meeting commenced, the REO briefly addressed the persons in attendance and stressed that what was taking place is merely a ‘discussion’ of the 2020 budget. However, after her address she listed the first set of projects from the budget and asked for a vote either in favour or against the projects.
She asked the councillors, “All in favor?”, to which the councillors responded “Aye”. This was done although she stressed in the beginning that it was a ‘discussion’ and pointed out that the opposition was not present.
Usually councillors from both the opposition and government are required to vote but since the ruling of the CCJ, the government was placed in caretaker mode, limiting its powers, including its ability to pass budgetary allocations.
Williams-Stephens who referred to the meeting as a “proposal meeting” and a “discussion” said, “as you can see the opposition side of the house is absent not withstanding we are going to have our budget discourse”.
She noted that the region was in possession of a budget circular sent out by the Ministry of Finance “which spells out to the regional administration what needs to be done in keeping with the financial regulation in order for us to prepare our proposal. Hence you are here this afternoon.”
She added, “I needed to say that so that you can all understand that there is nothing illegal with us preparing a proposed budget for 2020. I need to emphasize that there are two distinct functions, the preparation of the proposed budget, and the actual presenting it to cabinet approval is two distinct functions.”
The meeting is usually chaired by the Regional Chairman David Armogan, he was absent.
However, PPP/C Regional Councilor, Zamal Hussain, told this publication that the meeting held by the REO should only be a discussion with no additives (voting). He opined that there should not have even been a circular from the Ministry since they are “a cartaker government.”
“The REO is moving in the wrong direction; this is the work of the RDC. The regional chairman is the sole person in charge of the RDC and I think the RDC is the body that approves any budget for the regional democratic council”.
He made it clear that the role of the government is to only act in a caretaker capacity and hold elections.