A MOTION that is faulty cannot receive the blessings of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, subject Minister Ganga Persaud said yesterday in relation to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 4’s no-confidence motion against Regional Executive Officer (REO) Deolall Rooplall.

Minister Persaud, during a press conference yesterday, said, “They are accusing the REO of a number of issues which are not in the portfolio purview of the council itself, and the motion is not rested on statements of facts.” He said for these reasons he will communicate to the region that the ministry cannot support such a no confidence motion and such a request.
Recently, the Region 4 RDC, at a specially convened meeting, moved the motion against Rooplall. Minister Persaud indicated that yesterday he received an e-mail from the Regional Chairman Clement Corlette in which he sought the minister’s concurrence to dismiss the REO, and to have the Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) installed in his position.
Listed among the infractions the RDC identified for moving the motion against the REO was Rooplall’s ‘unauthorised’ registration for Region 4 vehicles: PPP 6238, PPP 7631 and PRR 1639.
The minister, however, explained the procedure across all 10 regions with regard to the registration of vehicles is the same. “It has to be for mischief that the Regional Chairman, who seems to know everything under this sun, does not know that Region 4’s system of vehicle registration is the same as for all the remaining nine regions.”
He said that the ministry is the only authorised entity to seek duty free and other concessions on behalf of the regions, and is the custodian of all state vehicles at the time of registration.
The minister said, “the regional chairman is guiding his councillors to move a motion against an REO for following the laid out instructions and for not following his instructions.”
The regional chairman also accused the REO of failing to account to the RDC for over $126M savings on its 2012 approved work plan and refusing to provide details on what the savings were used for.
The REO submitted documents to the Minister detailing the use of the savings. Among other expenses were those incurred for the excavation of the drainage outfall at Buxton at the cost of $2M and rehabilitation of the Nabaclis Middle Walk Dam that cost $2.5M.
Minister Persaud explained that the Region 4 Works committee, which comprises several of the councillors, would sign off on all the works before the contractors would have received payment for work completed.
He said, “Here is a motion passed in May by a group of people, many of whom would have signed and approved payments for this $126M that they say they do not know of.”
He said the worst is that “the leader of these people signed on each one of these vouchers authorising payment.”
The region also identified as issues for moving the motion the REO’s manipulation and amendment of the work plans submitted by the region for Budget 2013, his failure or refusal to pre-qualify contractors for 2013 who would bid on the 2013 projects, and his failure to attend statutory meetings.
The minister noted that Corlette has used the Municipality and District Council Act 2801 as the legal basis for moving the motion. He said however, that this Act is not applicable to RDC in its entirety, but that over time, Corlette has sought to misguide not only himself, but others, by seeking to suggest this is indeed the case. Minister Persaud said that Corlette used Section 117 to guide his motion, but that this section is in fact not applicable to the RDC.