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Region Five PPP/C Councillors, Regional Official’s protest budget meeting convened by REO.
Councillors of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in Region 5, NDC members, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal and the Vice Chairman Rion Peters yesterday picketed outside the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) yesterday morning and boycotted a special budget meeting convened by the Regional Executive Officer Ovid Morrison.
The protest outside the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council, Region Five, yesterday morning
The group of protestors brandishing placards emphasised that the meeting was illegal and they are against the actions by the REO. Chairman Ramphal told reporters that he did not summon a special meeting, but instead received a letter from the REO inviting him and other councillors “to a special meeting” about the 2020 budget.
“I have not summoned a special meeting, what I have observed is that the REO wrote to me and councillors inviting us to a special meeting at the RDC to discuss the 2020 budget. Let me make it clear, any special meeting must be convened or summoned by the Regional Chairman, anything out of that will be illegal. This meeting by the REO is illegal, he is acting outside of the laws that govern the RDC”, Ramphal asserted.
Vice Chairman Peters explained that a decision was made to execute a picketing exercise “to show that we are against the recent action of the REO to summon a meeting to craft the 2020 budget. We believe that any meeting by the council should be called by the head of the council which is the Regional Chairman”. He argued that the REO has no legal authority to instruct the council.
“We all know that in his capacity of clerk of the council, he is an advisor, and not in any way has the authority to instruct the council. This move to craft budget 2020 is illegal, because the government is a caretaker government and their only responsibility is to hold elections.”
Peters opined that the regional budget will be biased, and if the council is not fully constituted, then it can’t be passed or approved.
“What we have are the elected people of Region 5 coming out today to say no to this act by Ovid Morrison and the APNU/AFC government. We cannot move forward like this,” he charged.
Opposition Councillors, the Regional Chairman and the Vice Chairman also boycotted Region Six’s “special budget meeting”. At that meeting, the REO, Kim Stephens, told the government councillors and engineers from the Engineering Department that the activity was merely a discussion on the regional budget 2020, but asked the councillors, “All in favour?”…after listing each project and the councillors responded with an, “Aye”.
Voting is done when both opposition and government councillors are present; however, only APNU/AFC councillors were at the meeting.
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