The Region Four administration has written to Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall informing him of a 16:12 vote by councillors for the administrative building to be reconstructed at the same Paradise, East Coast Demerara location.
To date there has been no reply to the letter, but Chairman Clement Corlette says he anticipates a favourable response.
At the council’s first meeting for the year on Tuesday, Corlette told councillors that if he did not hear from the minister shortly he would write to him again.
Whether the building should be constructed on extra land space in the Regional Education Office’s compound at Triumph also on the East Coast Demerara, or at the original Paradise location had divided councillors with the PNCR-1G members of the council being more vocal in having the building remain at Paradise.
Region Four is set to provide a test of the new political environment. The two main parties – the PPP/C and the PNCR1-G – had voted together to share the top two spots on the council, that of chairman and vice chairman.
Cabinet had taken a decision to build on the Triumph location, but most councillors were not in favour of this move and all agreed that the best course of action was to approach the subject minister with their concerns.
Corlette told councillors on Tuesday that he had written to the minister and adverted his attention to Chapter 28:01 Section 301 (1) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, which also covers Regional Democratic Councils, and which he said stipulated that the council should make decisions pertaining to rental or any other things related to its building. “So I think he is looking at it and I am anticipating a response shortly,” Corlette advised the council.
He noted too that in his letter to the minister, he made known his support for the majority decision and used the statutes to support his position.
He said his letter reflected the views of some councillors from both sides.
The Local Government Ministry has gone to tender for the construction of the new building for the Region Four administration despite the searing disagreement among councillors who said that they were not consulted on the matter.
Corlette had previously told Stabroek News that he believed writing to the minister, even after the tenders were already advertised, was not too late and noted too that the Paradise location was suitable not only for historical purposes but also because it is centrally located.
“I don’t see any sense in putting the building in Triumph, which is so close to central Georgetown. Most of the staff are from further up the coast and travelling the distance every day may be a bit cumbersome for them,” Corlette said in the previous interview.
Corlette had said too that he believed this decision to build the office at Triumph was long in the works and no one chose to inform the new council about it.
The regional administration’s office at Paradise was destroyed by a suspicious fire just after the August 28, 2006 general elections.
‘No word from GFS’
“But with regard to what caused the fire we have not heard anything from them,” Ambedkar added. Corlette requested that Ambedkar get the permission to clear and use the area in writing since verbal permission was inadequate.
Just recently the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said that it was informed by Chief Fire Officer Lawrence David that arson was suspected as the cause of the September 9 fire at that entity which was also deemed “suspicious”. GECOM has asked the fire service to explain how it came to that conclusion.
