Georgetown’s Mayor, Ubraj Narine, has cancelled the council’s fortnightly statutory meeting, after he was unable to peruse and approve the meeting’s agenda.
Councillors were informed of the cancellation on Sunday via a message he posted in the Councillors’ WhatsApp group.
In the message, Narine informed them that he was not in receipt of the meeting’s agenda and as a result, there would be no statutory meeting.
“I said Good Afternoon Councillors, There will be no statutory meeting tomorrow. When the agenda comes to my office to sign off then we will have statutory,” he said.
Stabroek News was told that Councillors received copies of the meeting’s agenda, even though it was not approved by the Mayor.
Justifying his decision to cancel the statutory meeting, Narine said that this is the third instance in which the agenda was sent to Councillors without his approval.
“This is third time this is happening. The last statutory and the one before that was the same thing. I am no mad man to call off the statutory meeting suddenly. She (acting Town Clerk, Sharon Harry-Munroe) called me last night asking, ‘Mr Mayor, you can defer the meeting?’ I am a mad man to defer what? What I am going defer? I cannot defer something I know nothing about,” he stated.
During the perusal and approval period, the Mayor is allowed to make changes to, or add items to be discussed on the agenda.
Narine explained that he is unclear on the events that transpired which prevented him from receiving a copy of the agenda for approval.
The First Citizen pointed out that up until yesterday afternoon, he was still awaiting a copy of the agenda to peruse and approve.
“Now I still await on the agenda to come and receive my approval and we can move on from here and we can have a meeting before the end of the week,” he lamented.
However, a source at the City Hall told this newspaper that the Mayor had instructed his personal secretary to not accept the agenda, after it was delivered to his office in an untimely manner.
The Mayor yesterday noted that he wrote the acting Town Clerk yesterday morning and officially informed her that the statutory sitting was cancelled. In the said letter, he registered his frustration and disappointment at the Town Clerk’s action and pleaded with her to remedy the issue.
“…I must let you know how frustrated and disappointed I feel to have to write you on this matter. You are fully aware that we agreed that I peruse and approve the agenda before it is printed. Yet to my dismay the agenda was printed and distributed. Madam TC taking my words for granted and I am very much displeased…” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, Harry-Munroe has acknowledged that failure to deliver the agenda was an oversight on her office’s behalf. She explained that on Thursday, the copying machine developed a mechanical glitch. Throughout Thursday and Friday, the acting Town Clerk explained, she was swamped with meetings and failed to enquire on whether the agenda was dispatched to the Mayor’s office for approval.
She noted that after the machine was repaired and they were pressed for time, her staff made copies of the agenda and minutes and distributed it the Councillors.
None of the 30 Councillors showed up for the statutory meeting yesterday. However, officers of the council were seen in the vicinity of council’s chambers, as they showed up unaware that the meeting had been cancelled.
