Dear Editor,
With reference to the Stabroek News report of September 1, captioned, ‘REO, APNU+AFC councillors walk out from Region Three meeting’, I am deeply disturbed by it. It is my humble opinion that the reporter did not practise investigative journalism. To begin with, it was stated that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) walked out of the council’s statutory meeting along with nine councillors of the APNU+AFC coalition after the Regional Chairman asked for a report.
Present at the meeting were seven councillors of the APNU+AFC and when the Regional Chairman reached ‘Matters Arising’ on the agenda, he turned to the REO and in a loud tone aggressively asked what was the update from the Minister. The REO in his attempt to answer was interrupted and spoken to again by the Chairman in an even louder tone of voice.
At this point like any right-minded individual, the REO packed his books up and said boldly that he was excusing himself from the meeting. As he walked out, nine councillors followed behind him, of which seven were APNU+AFC. I don’t need to say which side the other two are from. Editor at no time did the REO ever say he had no report to give to anybody.
Secondly, it was reported that Chairman Julius Faerber told Stabroek News that as clerk of council, Jaikarran was supposed to produce the report at the meeting. Editor, I cannot comprehend this, since the Minister not only wrote but spoke ad nauseam on the reasons why the plantain chip factory at Wakenaam cannot come into operation, and PPP councillors would have acknowledged receipt of the Minister’s address on the matter, but as outlined above, the REO was not given a proper chance to answer.
Thirdly, SN reported that Chairman Faerber is contending that Mr Jaikaran’s behaviour cannot be accepted and he has to apologise before he returns to the next meeting. This I consider improper; the REO is the Head of the Regional administration and excluding him is to exclude all programme heads and even the minute-taker. Given what has been reported, it is the Regional Chairman who wants to create confusion in Region 3 and this should not be allowed. Notwithstanding the above, I firmly believe the REO does not have to apologise for anything. It was unprofessional of the Regional Chairman to believe that he could speak to the Regional Executive Officer in the way he did, and further, if at any time an apology should be offered, it should come from the Regional Chairman.
Lastly I note that in the said article a councillor was reported as saying that the REO said no money was available to clean the school compounds. Editor, the best way to dispel public misperception is to deal with it directly. The Education Committee informed the council on that very day that school compounds would be clean before school reopens. At the time of writing 95 per cent of schools are clean and the NDCs and the REO were instrumental in getting the schools up and ready.
Editor, in closing let me like others say that the REO is a noble gentleman who is seen very favourably in this region. He is a disciplined and courteous young man who has an open-door policy which allows access to the poorest of individuals. Denis Jaikaran is working for the development of this Region and if the Regional Chairman does not recognise that the tide has changed and that he needs to respect and operate within the confines of the law, the REO and he will at all times be at loggerheads. The REO is a law-abiding citizen.
Yours faithfully,
Parmeshwar Ramdiol
Editor’s note
Stabroek News reported in the story that attempts had been made to contact REO Denis Jaikaran for a comment, but that these proved futile.
