Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has emphasized the need for increased transparency within the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, which has been under the leadership of the current opposition for approximately 57 years. Dr. Jagdeo specifically highlighted the importance of live-streaming the council’s statutory meetings to ensure openness and accountability.
During a recent interview, Dr. Jagdeo expressed his concerns regarding the limited representation and exclusion of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) members in the council. He pointed out that PPP councillors have been marginalized, their voices silenced, and their influence diminished, which has hindered their ability to contribute effectively to the council’s functionality and transparency.
In their 2020 manifesto, the PPP outlined a comprehensive plan for the city. Dr. Jagdeo reiterated these commitments, stating, “We in our the manifesto that we put out for the city…we said, first of all, we’d live stream the City Council meetings. Two, we’ll ensure that every interaction with City Hall to control corruption and make it user-friendly will be on an electronic platform.”
The need for transparency was underscored in a noteworthy incident involving PPP Councillor Dimitri Ali during a statutory meeting in 2020. Councillor Ali was suspended after an alleged attempt to record the proceedings. As the councillors and Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine engaged in discussions, Mayor Narine noticed a flash coming from Councillor Ali’s cell phone. Upon inquiry, Councillor Ali claimed he was merely taking photos.
Mayor Narine reminded him that recording sessions required prior permission from the Council, and even media houses in attendance would need to adhere to the same rule, as outlined in the Council’s regulations.
Mayor Narine insisted that Councillor Ali hand over his phone to the Chief Constable, Peter Livingstone, so that the potentially recorded image or video could be removed by City Hall’s Information Technology (IT) technician. Despite the absence of the IT technician, Councillor Ali was instructed to have his phone checked.
However, he adamantly refused to comply, causing a delay in the proceedings which eventually led to A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Councillor, Heston Bostwick tabling a motion to suspend Councillor Ali from the remainder of the statutory meeting.
After decades of the Georgetown Council being under the control of the now opposition, Jagdeo stated that he believes voters of the Georgetown municipality should cast their ballots in favour of the People’s Progressive Party to not only fix the city but provide much-needed accountability practices within the council.
