Vijay Kumar Ramu was elected Mayor of Rose Hall Town yesterday when the new council held its first meeting at the Town Hall.
Dave Budhu was elected Deputy Mayor after the 13 new councillors were sworn in.
Three nominations were made for the office of Mayor of Rose Hall: Ramu, Budhu and Kamla Marriemootoo. Councillors voted by a show of hands and Ramu garnered nine votes, while Marriemootoo garnered three and Budhu got none. One councillor, Winston Emerson Hope abstained from voting.
Meanwhile, Budhu was the only nominee for Deputy Mayor and was therefore elected.
The other members of the council who were all sworn in yesterday are Verasammy Permaul, Dhanraj Samaroo, Nadira Samaroo, David Mortimer Fraser, Terry Jagat, Elvis Fitzgerald Punch, Jagatnarine Ramnauth, Rookmin Nalinie Ramcharran, and Godwyn Olanda Allicock.
Claude Henry, Regional Executive Officer, Region 6, who was present overseeing the process, encouraged the newly elected Mayor and Town Council to always work as a team.
Mayor-elect Ramu said that in 1994 he was a councillor with the Regional Democratic Council, but now he feels he has a lot more to offer Rose Hall Town. He said one of the first issues he plans to tackle is the drainage system. He also reminded councillors that they were elected to serve the town and they should also remember to be fair when carrying out their duties.
Yesterday was the Town Council’s first meeting following the conclusion of the recent Local Govern-ment Elections. The council has 9 PPP/C councillors and 4 APNU/AFC councillors.