The Chairman of Region Four, Daniel Seeram has labelled attempts by the Alliance for Change (AFC) to remove him from his post as unfortunate and distasteful.
“This course of action bears no fruit, but only creates mischief,” Seeram, who represents the AFC’s coalition partner, APNU, had said in a statement a week ago.
Asked last week about the status of the motion of no-confidence against him, Seeram said, “Currently we’re not in receipt of any motions.”
He was at the time responding to questions from Demerara Waves, News Talk Radio on the sidelines of a virtual press conference to address the proposed 2022 budget for Region Four.
He, however, asked that questions be confined only to items on the agenda.
Directly accused by the AFC of sidelining the party and not ensuring the meeting of several committees as is required, Seeram was specifically asked for his reaction.
In response he said “those issues are currently being dealt with by a specified committee,” while noting that he wanted to offer no further comment.
Pressed as to whether the accusations against him are baseless or not, Seeram pointed to a press statement he had previously issued and opined, “I’m sure should suffice at the moment.”
Being told that those questions were not addressed by the press statement to which he referred, Seeram was further pressed for a response.
He then said that in the statement of the AFC Councillors, “most of the inaccuracies there will be dealt with,” while adding, “However, at this forum I would not like to delve into it because there is an active committee pursuing coalition politics and at this point in time I will not say anything further on this topic.”
In a motion piloted by Councillor Amarnauth Chinkan, the coalition partner has accused Seeram of excluding them from decision-making within the Region. The AFC councillors contend that unilateral action from Seeram and Vice Chair Samuel Sandy, who both represent A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), have hindered the efficient functioning of the one-year-old Council.
Seeram is accused of creating chaos by unilaterally suspending the meetings of the sub-committees of the RDC. This suspension created information short flows which frustrated the work of the Council and forced Council members to move a motion for their reinstatement.
The AFC has stressed that its alienation and exclusion is clearly shown in the fact that Seeram holds chairmanship of key committees and sits as the sole regional representative on several national boards.
According to the Chair, the issues raised by the coalition partner have been either misrepresented or were already resolved at the level of the Council.
