Dear Editor,
On October 26, 2018 at a sitting of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the operation of the Georgetown City Council, chairman of the COI, retired Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana, Cecil Kennard, shouted “shut up” to Mrs. Patricia Chase-Green, the elected Mayor of Georgetown. Mr. Kennard’s outburst made sensational headlines.
How dare this man speak to the mayor of our capital city, a woman, in this insolent manner? Justice Kennard’s outburst was repulsive. CGID therefore condemns these comments in the strongest terms.
The day prior to this disgusting outburst, Mr. Kennard, made his antipathy for the mayor known. With alarming disdain, he asked Chief Constable of Georgetown, Mr. Andrew Foo, why is it necessary for the mayor to be assigned eight security guards? “Is she President Granger? He contemptuously questioned? I have never seen the security arrangements of a duly elected public official so recklessly challenged in public.
Mr. Kennard, seems out of touch, uninformed and intemperate. The important question is: is the mayor entitled to protection? The answer is yes! Moreover, a contingent of eight security guards is standard for a protected person. There are three shifts per day. Usually two guards are assigned to the protectee’s residence per shift, plus a driver and a principle protective officer, who accompanies the protectee. What is the objection to this basic security detail? But, is the mayor’s security within Mr. Kennard’s remit? Impossible! Furthermore, if the Mayor made managerial mistakes during her tenure, that is a question for the citizens of Georgetown to consider in the upcoming local government elections on November 12, 2018.
Yours faithfully,
Rickford Burke
President
Caribbean Guyana Institute
for Democracy