APNU+AFC Councillors shock Region Nine Vice Chairman

Region Nine Vice Chairman Bertie Xavier is unhappy that his opposition colleagues are ignoring
monthly statutory Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meetings thereby hurting their chances
of representing their constituents adequately.
“Our second statutory meeting went well (but) we didn’t have much on the opposite side. It was
the very first time that we have ever had such a short meeting,” Xavier recalled.
No explanation for their absence from statutory RDC meetings has been forthcoming so far from
the coalition A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Regional
Councillors and Xavier is hopeful this negative trend is halted.
Even more disheartening to Xavier is that APNU+AFC elected Councillors in Upper
Takutu/Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) also ignore Standing Committee Meetings a perquisite
to raising pertinent issues at the monthly statutory.

“Sidestepping the Standing Committees prevents them from contributing to the Statutory
meetings because a decision was passed that persons failing to attend their Standing Committee
meetings cannot raise issues with regards to their standing committee at the statutory (because)
we want Councillors recognise the importance of the Statutory meeting,” Xavier explained.
The Region Nine VC remains baffled by the continued ‘no show’ by APNU+AFC Councillors.
“It is not a case where they are boycotting the meetings but rather, they are not just not attending
the meetings,” the mystified regional official said.
One positive of the APNU+AFC Councillors absence is the brevity of current meetings under the
recently-elected Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) coalition, Xavier admitted.
Previously, meetings were “long and drawn up. I have never seen any of the meetings (between
2015 – 2020) finishing in a short space of time. Our last meeting went very short because there
were hardly any questions, recommendations or matters holding up the meeting. This is because
we had addressed all these issues at the standing committees meeting. The Regional Chairman

was very firm in ensuring that we maintain the time and not start in the morning and conclude at
night. The meetings now last for 4 hours while in the past the meetings lasted for eight hours,
which became a norm,” Xavier said.
He served a previous stint as an RDC member under the tenure of the David Granger
APNU+AFC administration.
The last Statutory meeting was held last month end.