Newly elected Deputy Mayor of Georgetown Lionel Jaikarran has vowed that come April 1, 2017 the only thing that will change about him is his seat at the horseshoe table.
“I’m not going to change. My views will remain the same; any position I held on an issue I will continue to hold,” he said stressing that he will not be giving any politically correct speeches as he was not a politician, but rather a blunt man who believes in transparency and honesty.
A tearful Jaikarran, who had told media on Thursday last that he had turned up prepared to vote for Sherod Duncan, compared being elected Deputy Mayor to becoming a father for the first time. Duncan who has been at loggerheads with Mayor Patricia Chase-Green withdrew his candidacy an hour before the elections stating that the position required someone more in tune with the incumbent Mayor’s thinking and work ethic.
Jaikarran could not say whether that he was such a person, but stated that his approach will be different from that of Duncan.
Both Duncan and Jaikarran are members of the AFC, which is part of the ruling coalition with the APNU and they have both expressed their objection to the proposed implementation of metered parking.
However, Jaikarran explained to Stabroek News that his approach to expressing dissention will be more conservative.
“I will attempt to work with the Mayor as much as possible. There are things we are diametrically opposed on, such as the parking meter contract, but I’m not going die on that hill. We are contemporaries in that we are both in our 50s. I’d like to say that I’m a mature individual whose is more interested in mediation than confrontation,” he explained.
“It’s on record that I am opposed to this contract – the way it was awarded and how it has so far been executed. My vote and my voice at the statutory meetings have been recorded but the parking meter contract has been passed by a majority and it is being implemented so I now need to make sure that I continue to represent my constituents to the best of my ability within this context.”
He stressed that he will be using the three months he has until he takes up the post to develop a clearer idea of how he will best able to work with the rest of the council to improve both accountability and transparency at City Hall.
“I will not lose my voice, but when I speak, I will speak as Lionel Jaikarran Councillor of Constituency One or Lionel Jaikarran Deputy Mayor. I will not speak on behalf of the council and I will not speak on behalf of the mayor,” he stated.
In the meantime, the councillor who chairs the Markets and Public Health Committee is working to have more done for the markets and those who vend in the city.
“We have a situation at what is called Parliament View and we need to have that resolved before the end of the year. As chair of the Markets Committee I compiled a report of our findings and suggestions and forwarded it to the Mayor over two months ago for review and have received no feedback. I have three months to think about being Deputy Mayor, I need to think about helping these vendors now,” he stressed.
