Health, personnel, finance and infrastructure committees have been appointed at the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation but none of them have any representation from the United National Congress (UNC), although the party got an equal number of seats in the corporation as the People’s National Movement (PNM) in the November 28 local government election.
Even as the council gets set to meet again, the UNC says the political impasse was not over and legal action was coming.
UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen told the T&T Guardian what happened on December 15 “was illegal and the future of the Corporation is in limbo.”
He said following the UNC walkout from the meeting at which Terry Rondon was re-elected chairman, committees were appointed but no UNC councillors or aldermen are on any of those committees. Ramdeen said under the law the UNC has three months to apply for judicial review of what happened on December 15.
“We are looking at that, we still have some time,” he said.
The Corporation has sent letters to all councillors and aldermen serving notice of a meeting to be held on January 5, but Ramdeen could not say whether UNC representatives would attend because “we are still looking at our position.”
“The UNC proposes to meet before that and will caucus to determine how to proceed,” he said.
“We will come to a decision as to how we treat with what transpired in Grande, and it will be resolved one way or the other in the interest of the people of Sangre Grande.”
Rondon, who was elected by PNM councillors and aldermen on December 15 after a UNC walkout, said: “The work of the corporation will go on with or without the UNC because this is about the people’s business. We have our first meeting for the year on January 5 and notices have been sent to all councillors and aldermen, UNC and PNM. It is up to the UNC to decide if they will attend.”
Asked about the UNC’s threat of legal action, Rondon said: “If the court says we have to give up the corporation I have to abide by the court’s ruling and I will not come out with ill-feelings. This is not about me but about seeing development of the people and the area.”
Rondon said Thursday’s meeting will focus on health issues and illegal buildings.
“Litter wardens and the County Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) have been asked to come in to talk to councillors and aldermen,” he said.
In addition, the Building Inspectorate has been asked to send a representative to the meeting to address the problem of illegal structures.
“We need to address this and other infrastructural issues,” he said.
Rondon said the Council intends to meet every Thursday with the statutory meeting scheduled for the last Thursday in the month.
With or without the UNC councillors and aldermen, he said, the Council has a quorum “because the quorum is fifty per cent, which we have.”
Rondon said three days after the UNC walkout, municipal police officers went after vendors who were selling illegally on the streets.
“I got a call about the situation and I walked the streets. I heard the cry of the people who said if they don’t sell they would have no money to put food on the table for their families,” he said.
He said he appealed to the municipal police to “give them a ‘bligh’.
“There were UNC people as well as PNM people selling, but party did not matter to me. What good for one good for all and I am prepared to go that same way. Nobody will be left behind.”
Rondon said he fully supports the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government’s national clean-up campaign and the corporation was mobilising village councils and schools and having discussions with private contractors in preparation for the event.