Latest update June 4th, 2026 12:30 AM
Taxpayer barred from Rose Hall Town Council Statutory meeting
Dear Editor,
I write as a concerned ratepayer of Rose Hall Town regarding a letter I received from the Mayor and Town Council dated May 19, 2025, signed by Ms. Natasha Griffith, Town Clerk. The letter states in part: “With reference to the above subject matter, please note that a decision was made at the Council’s Statutory meeting held on November 20th 2024 for you to be restricted from all Council’s Statutory Meetings until the next Local Government Election.”
As a resident who pays rates and taxes, I attended Council’s office to request to attend the Statutory Meeting for May 2025. This was the response. The law appears clear. Section 42(1) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01 states: “Every meeting of a council shall be open to the public and the press…”
Section 42(2) allows the public to be excluded only “during the discussion of any item” relating to staff, contracts, or legal matters. It does not appear to authorise a Council to ban a named individual from all future meetings until the next Local Government Election, which may be 2-3 years away.
The Council’s letter provides no reasons for the restriction. I was given no notice of the November 20, 2024 meeting, no hearing, and no opportunity to respond before this decision was made. I have therefore written to the Town Clerk on April 21, 2026 demanding that the Council: Rescind the November 20, 2024 resolution; Confirm my right as a ratepayer to attend Statutory Meetings as per Sec 42(1) Cap 28:01; Provide the Minutes of the November 20, 2024 meeting showing the motion, votes, and reasons.
A copy has been sent to the Hon. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development for his attention under Section 342 of Cap 28:01. The questions for the public are: Does any Town Council in Guyana have the statutory power to ban a resident from all Statutory Meetings?
If meetings where rates, budgets, and contracts are approved are closed to taxpayers, how is accountability maintained? Should such a decision be made without notice, hearing, or reasons? Statutory Meetings are where public money is allocated. The law says they shall be open. The public should know when and why a Council decides otherwise. I await the Council’s response and the Minister’s intervention.
Yours faithfully,
BESHAM HANOMAN
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